Walkers of the Abyss
by Dark demon619
Summary: Mysteriously transported to a unknown world, Jack finds himself in a world of despair, darkness, and the undead. Few in this realm wish to help him and all others seek to claim his humanity by violent means. Now with Demons, Undead, and god knows what awaiting him, he must find a way back home before he too joins the legions of the undead. And when he returns, will he be the same?
1. The Dream

___In the Age of Ancients, The world was unformed, shrouded by fog. __A land of grey crags, archtrees, and everlasting dragons._

___But then there was Fire. __And with Fire came Disparity. __Heat and cold, life and death, and of course... Light and Dark._

___Then, from the Dark, They came, __and found the Souls of Lords within the flame._

___Nito, the First of the Dead. __The Witch of Izalith, and her daughters of Chaos. __Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, and his faithful knights. __And the furtive pygmy, so easily forgotten._

___With the Strength of Lords, they challenged the dragons._

___Gwyn's mighty bolts peeled apart their stone scales. __The witches weaved great firestorms. __Nito unleashed a miasma of death and disease._

___And Seath the Scaleless betrayed his own, and the dragons were no more. __Thus began the Age of Fire..._  


* * *

_When Jack woke up this morning, he had expected quite a few things..._

_Doing homework, messing around with his friends, and maybe even driving around with his partner who happened to be a gigantic female robot who could transform into a motorcycle. For him, all of that could have been fairly normal, even the last one._

_However, waking up with nearly no recent memories and a splitting headache? No, that would have been odd._

_"What? Whats going...oh, my head..."_

_Head pounding, Jack Darby could only groan as he felt his mind slowly return to him._

_ What was going on? Where was he? Where were the bots? And what had he been doing? All of these questions would go unanswered for the moment, leaving the teen to just sit up from...where-ever he was._

_"Okay...that hurts." Jack moaned, rubbing his back. What had he been laying on? It felt stiffer then that crappy couch Bumblebee found for the base._

_Actually taking a moment to look around, Jack found himself wishing that he was on that old crappy couch. Instead, the boy somehow found himself outside an ancient looking...__Colosseum? The circular layout of the area and stone walls seemed to fit with that idea, but Jack for the life of himself couldn't remember why he was there._

_Hadn't he been with the bots just a moment ago? His memories were shaky at best, but Jack was certain that he wasn't heading toward some ancient ruins or something. But if so, then why was he here? The bots wouldn't just leave him here, or did something happen with the Ground Bridge or something? Was there another Ground Bridge malfunction? Only instead of sending him to a strange 'Shadow Zone', this one sent him halfway across the world? _

_Well, at least there wouldn't be any Zombie-Con to deal with this time...hopefully._

_Standing up, the boy let his feet guide him through the ancient looking Colosseum. He wasn't a history nut, but Jack didn't recognize anything about this place. Not the shape, the structure, or the details. And the smell...oh god the smell. It wasn't just the Colosseum, it was the entire area._

_It all stank of death.  
_

_Rotting flesh (not that Jack knew thats what it was), decaying bones, it all made the young boy want to puke his brains out._

_Even with death in the air however, Jack unknowingly continued forward with his feet dragging him further into the structure. Why though? Why was he drawn into this bleak place? there was a small forest and what looked like a bridge behind him, why not head that way and see if he could find help?  
_

_But no, he continued onward. It felt as if there was something calling him in there, begging for something. A release perhaps? Some help of some kind? But if so, then why? Why him? What could Jack do for whoever this was? It made the boy's mind spin even more. He didn't even know where he was...so how could help anyone?  
_

_Eventually walking through an opening in the structure, Jack heard what almost sounded like someone talking. The voice was hard to make out due to the distance but Jack was almost certain that he heard a mumbling at the least. _

_With the possibility of finding someone who might know what was going on, Jack quickly ran toward the opening and into a much larger chamber. The doorway was shrouded in a thin fog oddly enough, but Jack really didn't care. This was all too strange for his tastes and with the possible chance of getting some answers was worth anything he might see._

_"Hey!" he called out, running toward the 'person' in question, "Sorry about interrupting you, but could you help me with some..."_

_"...thing?"_

_With the figure he had thought was someone coming into view, Jack came to a forceful stop. Even if he heard this...thing speak, it wasn't human or at least wasn't anymore. _

_The creature had a humanoid form but nearly everything about it seemed wrong. Its arms were far too long and misshaped, the elbows bent at the wrong place. With no shirt covering its boy. Jack could easily notice the pale, blue-ish skin that the creature had. And its head...the round bulbous head, the creature even had multiple red eyes..._

_...all of which were staring hatefully at Jack._

_"...what the heck..."_

_Head bobbing around in a manor that seemed so inhuman, the creature turned its sights on Jack. Arms flailing, the monster let off a hideous screech before running straight toward the boy. Jack would have ran for the hills at this point too if it wasn't for something...new happening.  
_

_-SINK-_

_Before the monster could even move a foot or two in Jack's direction, a large grey and blue blur suddenly appeared and smashed into the creature. With a sickening crunch, the creature was crushed under the weight of this new arrival, something long and sharp stabbing into the monster's chest as it was pinned to the ground.  
_

_Stabbing into the disgusting creature was a massive figure. Clothed in an old, rustic and broken looking armor with blue dingy cloth laid under it, the figure stood at an impressive height. Even leaning forward Jack could see that this figure would have towered over him and likely any normal human. In fact, how he moved didn't seem human either. Leaping from such a high distance and somehow one-handing a sword larger than even Jack himself? That shouldn't be possible. And combine all of that with the fact that his left arm seemed to be broken and…what was this thing? _

_Twitching slightly, the massive knight stabbed into the creature once again before looking at Jack. The teen couldn't see the knight's face due to his hood, but he had a feeling that there wasn't anything good under there. _

_Straightening up a bit, the knight started to growl at the teen. A shadowy and sickly looking mist started to gather around the knight, almost responding to the figure's rage. Twisting around the his body, the massive Knight roared at Jack, nearly knocking the boy on his behind just by force alone._

_Twisting around, the knight somehow lifted his massive sword and rested it on his shoulder, the corpse still impaled on the blade._

_Then with a flick of his arm, the knight flung the disgusting corpse towards the young teen. _

_Waking up from his shocked state, Jack just barely ducked out of the way of the wrecked corpse before it could slam into him. With a tiny bit of the monster's blood splashing on his face, Jack took a deep breath as the corpse crashed into the wall behind him.  
_

"_Wha…what the…" he muttered. Even after everything he had seen, this was too much._

_Too much or not, the Knight didn't stop there. Metal boots stomping against the stone ground, the massive Knight quickly ran toward Jack with his sword being dragged against the ground while his limp arm danged at his side.  
_

_With the massive figure approaching him, Jack tried to back away from the horrific sight. But the placement of a single stone ruined that idea, causing the boy to fall onto his behind. Reduced to crawling, Jack could only watch as the Knight jumped high into the air. Watching as the Knight flew through the him, Jack quickly crossed his arms in front of him as the knight's sword descended on him._

_"No!"_

_A flash of light erupted on that spot, engulfing both the Knight and the teen._

_And then, there was Darkness._

* * *

_____But soon, the flames will fade, and only Dark will remain. __Even now, there are only embers, and man sees not light, but only endless nights._

_____And amongst the living are seen, carriers of the accursed Darksign._

_____Humans and Undead went crazy._

_____Hollowing and hollowing._

_____One by one._

_____It could've been mere months before the End._

_____Survive..._

* * *

_____AN:_

_____So, first Dark Souls and Transformers Prime crossover. Yep._

_____To warn you, if you haven't played Dark Souls then some of this stuff may seem odd...and very violent, but hey...I warned you._

_____Yes, First Chapter is short, but this is just a taste of what is to come if people enjoy this._

_____At the moment this is more so a test then a real starting chapter (although this IS the first chapter). I will of course continue this if there is a interest for it. But if not, then I may leave it as a one-shot and see if something happens later on._

_____PM/Review if you have any questions. Lets see where this goes shall we?_


	2. Fire-link Shrine

_Fire-link Shrine_

* * *

A dream...it had to be just a dream.

Those were the thoughts Jack had as his mind drifted. A Knight and a Monster? A giant stone Collosium? Seriously? How could he believe such a thing. As a boy who lived in a small backwater town in Nevada with his mother, such things didn't seem possible or even realistic.

Even if he and two friends of his had discovered a Alien race of living machines, who were in the middle of fighting a secret war on earth, it couldn't have been real. The fact that his motorcycle was both a giant female alien robot and his partner was more believable then that. Right?

His life was far from normal but it had at least some semblance of normalcy...hadn't it?

For some reason, Jack felt his mind twist and turn. Something was missing from his memories...like a giant hole had been ripped right out. He still knew about his family, his friends, and his home...but where was he now? What had he been doing? What had been happening?

And what was this...darkness that was surrounding him?

* * *

_**Darkness, it spread like a Cancer, engulfing everything around him. He tried to kick at it, to put some distance between him and this horrid material but nothing worked. It would not stop, not until it was everywhere.**_

_**The sickness even forced itself into the boy's mouth, into his eyes...it wanted him. Body and Soul...**_

_**He tried to scream, but the it silenced him, leaving him to the void...**_

_**...in nothing but silence.**_

* * *

A small bit of light shining into his eyes, Jack let loose a small groan. What time was it? And when did he leave his blinds ope-

"Ah, finally awakened have you?"

Shooting upward at the sudden voice, Jack nearly let out a small yelp. Looking around in a frantic manner, Jack was worried for a moment that he would awaken to that dream once again. However, the boy quickly discovered that the place around him was not the Coliseum.

_'Well...'_ Jack thought,_ '..at least it isn't as creepy as the last place was...'_

But, he wasn't in his room either...

Instead, the teen found himself in a similarly ruined area to his dream, but not as grand or ominous. Instead, it looked to be a completely ruined temple or caste-like structure, Jack couldn't be sure whichever. What he was sure of was that there was no gigantic building towering over him anymore…and no monsters or knights within. He was just alone, alone in this ruined place that seemed far outside his normal brand of weirdness. Still, at least he was alone…

Or at least he thought he was.

Turning towards the voice that had greeted him, Jack was glad to see that it wasn't another disfigured creature like those of his dreams or a horrific knight of grand height and power.

Instead, it was a man, not the monsters from his dream but an actual man. He sat off to the side, back against a wall of aged stone. Clad in a suit of chain-mail and leather gloves, the man looked over at Jack with a smile that creeped the boy out greatly.

"I was starting to believe that you weren't going to awaken." The man's sickly and sly voice chilled Jack to the bone, "Although, perhaps that could have been a better fate for you…"

If this situation had Jack feel unsettled before now, that didn't help at all.

"Oh, be silent. Can't you see that you're scaring the young lad?"

Hearing yet another voice, Jack looked behind himself and noticed yet another figure. It turned out to be another man, this one in a much larger set of armor. And it was a strange set of armor to be sure; it actually reminded Jack of an onion for some reason.

In one of the man's arms was a massive sword, so large that it was amazing that the man could wield something like that. In his other hand was a small round shield with a large spike placed at its center. It was almost odd to see a man wield such polarizing weapons, but really that wasn't the strange thing for Jack.

No, the fact that he was looking at armored people in the first place was strange enough.

Approaching the young boy, the knight offered knelled down slightly, "Ignore him, he tends to ramble about all sorts of nonsense, trying to be bring down the spirits of all who are near him." The knight pointed over to the first man, who merely sat there with a smile.

"I was only speaking the truth." He shrugged, "Letting a boy like this run around? Seems much crueler than the most savage tortures…"

Sending what Jack guessed was a glare at the man; the knight shook his helmet, "Well that's your insight into such matters, one that I've repeatedly told you to be silent about."

Earning nothing but a hollow chuckle from the man, the knight turned his attention back to Jack, "Bah, forget about him. I am Siegmeyer of Catarina! A pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

Eagerly offering a hand to Jack, the teen reluctantly accepted the gesture, "Nice to meet you, I'm Jack…"

Lifting the boy to his feet, Siegmeyer gave the boy a small pat on the back, "Jack? Interesting name you have there, but I've heard stranger! Hah Hah!"

"Right..." Jack mumbled, still confused about nearly everything.

Laughing still, Siegmeyer chuckled through his helmet,"Still, we were starting to wonder when you were going to awaken. You've been out for quite some time."

That caught Jack's attention, "How long have I been asleep?"

Siegmeyer tried to answer, but the chain-mail wearing man got there first, "Oh, a few days at least. A few of us even wondered if you had left us at points, but the lack of maggots disproved that theory now didn't it?"

The onion knight glared at the chuckling man while Jack just stood there, dumbstruck. It had been days already? How as that possible?! What happened to him? How as he knocked out for that long? And if hes been out for days, then how did he get here in the first place!?

"Easy, now." Siegmeyer tried to calm the boy, "Tis true, it has been a few days since one of my companions had discovered you. But fear not! I believe answers may arrive once he returns!"

"If he returns."

Huffing, the large knight tried to ignore the other man and instead focused on Jack once again, "Still, it is nice to see such a young face again, tis been awhile since any of us had seen someone such as yourself."

And like before, this once again made Jack feel a bit unnerved, "And why is that?"

Such a question made Siegmeyer's shoulders sag, allowing the other man to answer the boy once again, "One such as yourself don't seem to last that long here in Lordan, especially one so bare to the world."

Confused for a moment, Jack couldn't help but look down at himself. It was then that the boy noticed that he was wearing nothing but a grey long sleeve shirt and a pair jeans. When compared to the two men in front of him, Jack had to admit that he was a but under-dressed. (Although he could have sworn that he had been wearing something else earlier) Still, the man's words didn't help with the growing sense of dread that was building up in his chest.

However, at least Jack knew something fairly important; where he was.

"Lordan...so thats where I am?" he mumbled to himself. He had never heard of such a place before. It actually sounded like some fantasy name or something, hell all of this did at some level at least.

"Why yes," Siegmeyer nodded, "Land of the Ancient Lords, I take it that you...weren't aware of this?"

Jack sighed, sitting back down, "No, no I wasn't. The last thing I remember..."

The teen tried to think back to the last thing he had been doing, but all that came up was a thick fog in his mind. Why couldn't he remember? Did something smack him in the head too hard? Maybe this 'companion' that Siegmeyer was talking about accidentally dropped him on his head when he brought Jack to this place. It would certainly explain the headaches at least.

"Hm," the knight rubbed his chin, "Well, such a thing isn't that uncommon. Most who arrive at Lordan tend to have some problems here and there, although the mental ones are the most dangerous."

That didn't sound good, "Why is that?"

Siegmeyer looked visually surprised at that. How much was thing boy not aware of? Or had he simply forgotten such vital details?

"Plagues to the mind are normally one of the first signs that a undead is close to becoming hollow. Rejuvenated with humanity or not, feeling as if your mind is slowly slipping away is one of the deepest fears of the undead."

"Wait..." Jack stopped the night, "Did you say...undead?"

Had he been talking to Zombies this whole time!? Seriously? Miko would have a fit if she found out!

Siegmeyer on the other hand was starting to have doubts about this boy. Its one thing to not know that he was in Lordan. With all the mysterious ways that one could enter such lands, that wasn't impossible. But to be unaware of the undead and the Curse of the Dark Sign? Such a thing was impossible...wasn't it?

"My," the chain-mail man chuckled again, "This one has many questions, doesn't he?"

Ignoring the other man's chilling remarks, the knight of Catarina looked at Jack with a curious gaze (not that Jack could tell due to his helmet, "Tell me boy, are you aware of the ailment that most of the undead suffer from? The reason most come to Lodran in the first place?"

"No..." Jack replied, still a bit unsure about the whole undead thing. It didn't make sense, if these two were undead (at least thats what Jack thought was being implied) then how was the other man still human-looking? Where is the rotten flesh and moaning for brains? Was this something different then? But if it was, then why call them undead? It sounded very confusing for the boy.

"Truly?" Siegmeyer pondered that for a moment, "How could a undead not know about being as such..."

"Thats because he is not undead."

Jack, Siegmeyer, and the crestfallen warrior all turned to the being who said that. Eyes traveling upward, the three soon spotted a lone figure walking toward them after emerging from a old abandoned Church-like structure. That was another thing Jack noticed, everything around them seemed to be in disrepair and or just really old. It was discerning to be sure.

Back to the new arrival however, Jack noticed that like Siegmeyer and the man in chain-mail, the new arrival was also dressed in armor. However, this man's gear was much more manageable in comparison to the others. Not in pure chain-mail or heavy metal, the new figure's gear was actually a combination of leather, armor, and chain-mail, a much more varied combination to be sure.

With a almost stereotypical knight's helmet on his head, the new figure soon approached the group, making his way toward the nearby bonfire.

"Ah! My friend," Siegmeyer greeted the new knight, having momentarily forgotten about Jack for the time being, "How wonderful to see you again. How goes you journey?"

The new knight sighed, taking a seat next to the mound of flames. Placing his shield to the side, the Knight let out a groan, "Not well, Ano Londo is much more treacherous then I could have imagined." he muttered, "The guardians have proven to be quite the formidable foes..."

"Ah yes," Siegmeyer nodded, "Those knights...such treacherous creatures..."

"I was more referring to the two that guards the inner chamber," Looking up at the cloudy sky, the knight shook his head, "They bested me more times then I can count...tis why I have returned here, I am not prepared enough for them."

After getting crushed, stabbed and flattened by the guardians of Ano Londo, this undead simply needed to rest for a brief moment. He had thought Blight Town was unbearable, but those two juggernauts made even that deepest pile of waste seem like a godsend. Still, that was why he had returned, to rest up and re-equip himself.

"My friend, what did you mean by...'hes not undead'?"

Still, now that he has returned, he would have to deal with his little 'discovery', "Ah, yes...the boy."

Sighing, the knight turned to Jack, "It was more then a few days ago when I had discovered you in the Darkroot Basin..."

* * *

_Days earlier..._

_The Crystal Golems, the horrid creations that roam the dark woods of Darkroot Basin. They were giant creatures, made of pure crystals and had the destructive power to utterly obliterate any undead that they come across. Hunting in packs, the abominations had a unknown goal within the Darkroot basin, doing nothing much marching through the trees for seemed like days on end._

_Or at least that is what they were doing until the Chosen Undead had arrived._

_Making his way down a cliff-ridden path, the undead knight slowly marched toward a tree ridden environment called the Misty Woods. Spotting the trees from a distance, the undead had hoped to find a moment of peace after the living plants, the Ents had attacked him from above after leaving the Undead Parish. _

_ Nearing the trees however, the undead quickly found the massive Golems descending upon him, seeking to tear the knight apart._

_With sword and shield in hand, the Knight quickly fought against the massive constructs. Bones were shattered, blood was spilled, and the Golems eventually fell to the undead. Still, it was a hard fought battle and the Knight was forced to take at least a few shots from his Estus flask. Regenerated for the moment, the undead pushed onward toward the lake._

_Reaching the lake however, the undead quickly found a even greater threat toward his life._

_Sitting in the center of the lake was a massive, multi-headed creature known as a Hydra. _

_Low on Estus, the Undead was forced to take his time and be careful with his movements or else be defeated and returned to the last bonfire he had visited. However, even with this careful strategy, the undead found himself out of his most valuable resource just moments after the Hydra was slain._

_With no Bonfires that he could see, the undead was forced to make his way back toward the Undead Parish so he could resupply.  
_

_But, as he made his march back down the path that had brought him here, the Knight noticed something laying near a waterfall that fell onto the lake. With the Hydra dead and no other Crystal Golems around, Knight approached the figure.  
_

_At first he suspected that it was another corpse, left there by the creatures he had just defeated. However, upon closer inspection the undead soon discovered that it was far more than just another corpse. Instead of finding a shriveled up body, the undead had found what looked like a boy...and he was alive! Such a thing was nearly unbelievable due to the creatures he had just encountered. _

_Why hadn't the Hydra eaten him or the Golems crushed him? Neither were known or on the undead's mind at the moment.  
_

_Checking the boy, the undead found that the child was nearly wound-less besides a bruise on his head. Combine that with the unfamiliar clothes he was wearing, and the undead was quite curious about the boy._

_So, with his need to return to a bonfire still in his mind, the Undead gently lifted the boy up and placed him on his shoulders. Looking around to make sure that no threats were near, the undead knight slowly made his way back through the Misty Woods, hoping to return to the Undead Parish without any interruptions._

* * *

"And yet once I had returned to a bonfire and checked you for wounds, there was something...missing." the undead crossed his arms, finishing his tale.

Jack and Siegmeyer (the other undead, the Crestfallen warrior had lost interest around halfway through the story) looked on as the Knight finished his tale. So, Jack had been found near at Darkroot Basin near a Hydra and Crystal Golems (both creatures were something Jack was a bit skeptical about, but he let that slide. He did know about the Autobots after all), miraculously unharmed besides a bump on his head.

"Missing?" Siegmeyer asked, giving Jack a sideways glance, "What could he be missing?"

Instead of simply answering the question, the Knight looked to Jack and stared at him intently. Reaching down, the Knight then removed one of his gloves and showed his hand to a group, the back of which had a strange mark on it.

"You don't have the Darksign." he explained, "Nothing, no wounds, no scars...and no mark. You're not undead son, you're completely human."

Siegmeyer and even the other undead quickly grew silent at that revelation while Jack was confused. So he didn't have this 'Darksign', what about it? What was so important about not have some weird mark on his hand?

"The Darksign binds the dead, it holds us to our curse..." the Knight sneered.

"So then boy, if you will, please explain to me how a living, breathing human of your age..." the knight's sword slowly slid from his sheath, "Has found himself in Lordan?"

After so long of nothing but death, the undead, and various other creatures, it was nearly impossible for the Undead Knight to not take this without some doubt in his mind. Children and youth like this lad could not survive in a place like Lordan, especially without armor and a weapon. So how could this be?

Could this boy be a mimic? No, why would he remain as he is for so long then? And when could a mimic take the form of a human? They always appeared as treasure chests in order to fool a desperate undead. Was he a demon? Still, the same problem presents itself...why wait so long?

"So? What say you?" the Knight growled at Jack, his patience very limited.

Jack however didn't know what to say. He didn't even know half of what was going on, let alone what this 'Darksign' was, "I don't...I really don't know-"

Grabbing the young boy's leg, the Knight forcefully knocked Jack off his feet and forced his blade against the teen's neck, "Do NOT lie to me. You may not be undead but that doesn't mean that you're fate will be any better then the rest of us!"

Feeling the blade's cold edge against his flesh, Jack instinctively gulped,"I really don't know! I swear!"

"And how do I know that thou aren't lying?!" The Knight pressed his blade forward, drawing a bit of Jack's blood.

Jack had to think, what did he remember? There had to be something, anything that would save him from having a new hole in his neck. But what? Thinking hard, the boy tried to dig into his mind, to find something that could give him a clue as to why he was here. Of course though, he quickly came across that accused fog wall that haunted in his mind. But that wouldn't stop him, not this time!

Pushing through, Jack searched for something...there had to be a reason why he was-

* * *

**_Darkness. Endless Darkness surrounded the boy...echos of voices of the past haunted him, echoing through his mind..._**

_"Are you sure I'm worthy?"_

_"This time, hes coming with us!"_

_"Boy! You will Suffer for that!"_

_"NO!"_

**_A pulling sensation filled his body, as if he was being pulled somewhere else. And then, there was a light...just before it was snuffed out by a darkness, one thicker than any shadow he had ever seen._**

_ "...swallowed by the Abyss, overcome by its utter blackness... Indeed, the Abyss may be unstoppable..."_

* * *

Gasping fro breath, Jack emerged from his mind in a frantic state. He had no idea what he had just saw. The voices were familiar, all but the last one at least. And that feeling he had, was that part of the reason why he was here? It was like something had take a hold of him and dragged him somewhere. But what did that last voice mean?

"Well!?" the familiar pressure of a sword against his neck quickly reminded Jack of the position he was in. There was still a Knight about to cut his neck open if he didn't tell him anything of important or relevance.

"The last thing I remember is a bright light, a pulling sensation, and then darkness, thats all!" Jack quickly told the knight. It was all that he had at this point, Jack still had no idea where he truly was or what was going on. He was literally taking a leap into the dark.

But what if he was wrong and the knight didn't take the bait? Jack couldn't help but imagine the sight of the metal blade slowly slice into his neck and spilling all of his life blood. It was a terrifying aspect to be sure, especially since it was so close at the moment. Still, it was the one chance he had to escape such a fate, so he had to take it.

Clutching his eyes shut, Jack waited to see if the knight would believe him...and when there wasn't a sudden pain in his neck, then Jack knew that something was up.

"...a pulling sensation?" Slowly opening his eyes, Jack looked up at the Knight. His sword was still pressed against the boy's neck...but thats all.

Swallowing his breath, Jack nodded, "Yeah, it was like someone grabbed me from behind and tossed me somewhere..."

"Did it feel as if you're soul, your very essence was being moved? Taken to another place entirely?" The Knight eagerly asked.

Sweat dripped down Jack's head as he thought about it, "A bit, it did actually...only it didn't stop there. It felt like something..." A dark sensation crawled up Jack's spine, "...something stabbed into me, everything I am and dragged me away."

Not moving for a moment, the Knight eventually sat upward. Sheathing his sword, the night seemed to consider Jack's excuse for a moment or two. That description sounded familiar, like he had been summoned or something. But then, something was extremely wrong then. A summoning only draws the spirit from a summon sign, not an actual person.

"Do...you have any experience with summon signs boy?"

With a eyebrow raised at that question, Jack shook his head, "Sorry, I'm not following anything you're talking about."

Which also perfectly described Jack's feelings towards nearly everything else these men had talked about since he had woken up.

"Perfect," the Knight cursed, sitting back down near the bonfire. If this boy didn't know about summon signs, then there was no way that he could have put his own down, and if that wasn't the case then how could he have been summoned anywhere?

"Whats wrong?" Getting to his feet, Jack noticed that the hostile environment had nearly vanished at this point. Instead, it had been replaced by one of confusion and frustration, which perfectly described how Jack was feeling too. Being dropped into a unfamiliar setting could do that to someone.

The Knight sighed, kicking a small rock. This was all starting to make his head hurt, "Well, I'm starting to believe your tale...but currently it only leads to yet more questions. Questions that I'm sure neither of us have the answers to."

Okay, Jack could understand what was wrong now. Strange, unexplained randomness messing about him their lives that didn't seem possible in the slightest? Sounded fairly standard to Jack, "Isn't that always the case in situations like this?"

Chuckling, the Knight nodded, "You have that right boy..."

With all the crap that had been going on, Jack took a seat next to the knight and extended his hand to him, "Well, since you're not trying to kill me for the moment, how about we start over again? My names Jack, whats yours?"

A moment or two passed before the Knight actually spoke, "Javed," he muttered, taking Jack's hand, "It has been some time since the last one who asked me for my name. Recently I have only been referred to as 'Chosen Undead', so hearing my own name again sounds...nice."

Shaking the man's hand for a moment, Jack smiled, "My pleasure Javed."

With a bit of a comforting silence (Something very rare in Lordan) erupting between the two, Jack couldn't help but smile. In less then an moment he had learned the name of the man who nearly slit his throat. And surprisingly, this wasn't that odd for the young boy either.

Still, this silence was soon shattered by-

"Splendid!" Reaching over to the two, Siegmeyer nearly got them both into a bone crushing hug. Luckily though Javed's armor made it so that Jack could escape the pain, even if the 'Chosen' Undead had to bear it alone, "I was truly worried that you might have ended the young one's life! And a short one it would have been!"

A snap or two could be heard as the massive knight hugged Javed, earning a look of pity from Jack, "Are all of your friends like this?"

The Knight shrugged despite the hold he was in, "I don't have many so, yes actually."

Siegmeyer was only one of the very few allies that the Undead really had left. The others he could count were the blacksmiths around Lordan, the sorcerers such as Big Hat Logan and Griggs of Vinheim, the Merchants, and even some of the other peaceful individuals that lived throughout the ruined land. However, there were only so few of them left that were like Siegmeyer. Indeed, the only one he could actually think of was Sol-

Wait, that...might be an actually idea! Perhaps he could help the young boy or at least give them some answers! Removing himself from Siegmeyer, the Chosen Undead quickly picked Jack up and nearly dragged him away from the Bonfire, "Come with me."

Jack was just getting more and more confused about all of this, "Um, why?"

"We need to head to the Undead Burg..." Javed grabbed his shield and started to make his way back toward the ruined church with Jack closely following him.

"And why do you think we need to head there?" he asked, still confused. They had finally gotten settled for the moment and now this guy wanted to drag him somewhere? What could this be all about?

The Knight chuckled under his helmet, "Because, one of my friends should be there. He is the one who first told me about the Summon Signs and might know something about what happened to you!"

"Really!?" Jack's mood instantly improved at that idea, "Who is he?"

Marching his way up a stoney path, the Undead let out a small laugh. He was the man that the undead had discovered shortly after killing the Taurus Demon while in the Undead Burg. The massive demon and its hammer had beaten down the undead a few times before he had defeated it, but the victory was well worth it, for at the end of the path after the monster was a man. A man that had helped the Chosen Undead out more times then he could count...

"His name is Solaire of Astora."

* * *

_So, Chapter 2. We get some back-story and met some important characters (and anyone wondering, this proves that I'm not making Jack into the Chosen Undead, so sorry if that disappoints you). Anyway, next time we get some more action and learn some more about Jack's mysterious arrival in Lordan. _

_Chosen Undead, Laved is wearing the Elite Night Armor for those who are wondering. I'll cover his weapon and shield in the next chapter._

_Personal Headcanon: Siegmeyer wouldn't like the Crestfallen Warrior all that much due to his downer attitude messing with Siegmeyer's cheerful adventurous attitude._ _They are nearly the opposite in attitudes, so they wouldn't get along that much._

_So, actually NPCs actually interacting...how did you think it was? We never actually get to see them interact outside the Chosen Undead._

_RxR please, I want to hear you're opinions!_


	3. Armor & Weapons

_Armor & Weapons_

* * *

Giving Siegmeyer a small farewell, the duo quickly made their way toward the nearby Church. With the best chance of finding someone that could help Jack being up in the Undead Berg, the two had to make haste. Demons and Undead were surely waiting for them above, so Jack and the Chosen Undead Javed had little time to waste. However, there was one thing that had to be done before they ascended to the town above.

"But first, we must stop for just a moment."

As if on cue, the duo quickly came to a halt inside the large church. It was made of stone and in a state of disrepair like everything else, but at least it had a roof to it. Grass was growing everywhere and there was even a bit of mold growing on the walls. Still, that didn't stop Jack from noticing a staircase off to the side.

That was ignored for the moment however, as Javed took this chance to fully examine Jack's attire…and he wasn't impressed in the slightest.

"You can't march the lands if Lordan in such…" Javed muttered in disgust, "…cloth."

Stopping for a moment, Jack looked down at himself, "Whats wrong with what I have on?"

He wasn't trying to be rude or anything, but the Undead sighed at the boy anyway, "It leaves you practically defenseless, that's 'what's wrong' with it."

"I don't understand-"

"Arrows will go right through you, swords will leave nothing left, spears will skewer you, and axes will leave you in pieces." He continued, "Such a material is unfit for anywhere in this vile land, as it would mean your instant death.

And prove his point, the Knight poked Jack through a small hole he had in his shirt. If Jack's clothes couldn't protect him from one undead's finger, then the monsters they would be facing would tear this young boy apart. This was something the Undead was sure of; after all…Ano Londo hadn't been the first time he had died. Not even close.

"And since death will not end you back at a Bonfire…" he gave Jack another poke, "Something must be done about it."

With a sigh, Jack pushed the undead's hand away, "Okay, I get it. But what did you have in mind then?"

Letting his arm drop, the Undead motioned Jack over to the far end of the Church's main chamber. It had nothing but a few giant pots filling up space, but when Javed moved one or two he revealed a strange looking chest.

"It's a box."

Jack wasn't too impressed.

Javed nodded, "Aye, tis a box, but tis a box that will be your salvation for the moment."

"A box is going to save me?"

Letting loose a small mutter, the undead ignored the team and opened the small crate. Rummaging around in it, Javed began to grumble something as he searched for what he needed. Jack couldn't really understand what the man was saying but he was more confused about how much difficulty he was having. The bot was tiny, how could he not find what he was looking for in second or two?

Still, this…somehow…went on for a minute or two before the Knight let loose a small laugh of success, "Ah ha! Found it!"

"Great," Jack mumbled, "What is it? A hat or some-

And then, the Knight pulled out a torso of armor, and then a pair of pants, gloves, and boots. All out of that tiny chest.

"-thing." Jack was a bit take back by this, something Javed noticed rather quickly.

"Tis a 'bottomless' box of sorts." He explained, now pulling out a sword and shield this time, "One I had discovered while in the Undead Berg. It has proven to be quite useful in holding anything I may acquire during my travels.

Jack nodded at that but couldn't help but stare at…how strange this was.

That was quickly dealt with however when the knight handed the boy everything he had taken from the box, "But that is irrelevant. What is important is for you to put these on and get accustomed to them."

Taking a suit of armor, a sword and sheild, Jack gave the material a good look over. It looked like it was made of leather, something much lighter than the metal plating Javed and the others were wearing. The shield was also made of leather while the blade was a average looking shortsword. The armor also seemed to be his size luckily, but Jack was unsure.

"And you're just going to give me this?" He was a perfect stranger, so why give an entire suit of armor to him of all people?

Javed gave the boy a shrug before putting the 'bottomless box' back where he had found it, "Tis a suit I found while in Blight Town, one not of my style. I shall not miss it nor those weapons, so they will do for now."

The Chosen Undead had plenty of gear lying around in that chest, and he saw little appeal in the leather armor. It might have granted less protection then his current armor, but it was surprisingly light and hopefully something Jack himself could wear. He didn't want to burden the boy with armor that he couldn't even wear, but this was the best chance he had for the boy's sake.

_'Great.'_ Jack thought to himself. He hadn't pictured himself getting dressed up as a knight since he was a few years old...for Halloween. Seems to fit considering the general feel of this place though.

"Now, I suggest you get dressed, time is of the essence."

That didn't sound too good in Jack's opinion, "Why is that? Is it going to get dark or something?"

"No," Javed denied, "I am unsure how long my friend will be in the Undead Berg. He travels many places in the same tune as Siegmeyer. So we must make haste and find him now, or else I fear that we won't be able to get what we need from him."

That didn't sound good to Jack, "And you don't think you'll be able to find him again?"

This was also something Javed denied, "No, not at all. Solaire is normally the one who finds me during my travels. No matter where I go, he somehow is there before I even arrive. However, you will likely never meet him if we dally too much."

"Why do you think that? Maybe I could find him later if we miss him now." Jack wouldn't stop if they simply missed the man at Undead Burg. If he truly could help find Jack a way home, then he would gladly hunt the man down no matter where he went!

"You will not survive the trials outside of Firelink Shrine," his tone held no exaggerations in these words, "It tis only with my accompany of you that gives hope towards your survival."

Jacks heart sank at those words.

"The realm outside this little shrine," Javed gestured at the land around him, "It's all filled with monsters and creatures that will devour you whole, soul and all. The Undead at not the only creatures to fear in this world, Nay, I believed they are the least of your worries."

The undead could be dangerous to be sure, but with the demons and monsters that roam the land, Jack would be someone or something's dinner in a matter of no time at all.

"But enough of that," the undead cut in, "Hurry and get dressed, we must depart quickly and not waste time in mere chit-chat."

Nodding, Jack quickly got to work on suiting up. Leaving his shirt on, the boy did his best to put on the set of armor. The leather was a bit too big for him, but it worked rather well. It did make Jack feel a bit heavier too but that was just something he would have to get used to. Upon putting the leather pants on however, Jack noticed something.

Reaching into his back pockets, the young boy realized that he had something with him this whole time. Wasting none, Jack quickly reached into his pocket and pulled whatever he had out. Instead of a cellphone like he had expected, Jack couldn't help but stare at the device he had found. It was thin and was only about the size of his hand. It also appeared to be made out of a metal of some kind and had blue circuits of light running throughout it.

Just holding the device made memories shift in the back of his mind, but the fog continued to obscure all of them.

"Whats that?" Javed asked, having noticed the boy staring at the strange device.

* * *

_"...I feel that you have earned the responsibility of safe guarding this important device...until I return."_

* * *

"Its…" Jack muttered, "…I think it's a gift, something a friend of mine gave me to watch until he comes back for it."

Watching on as Jack stared at the device, the Undead let out a sigh, "Then keep it close," Eyes widening, Jack turned to the Undead, "Such things are precious to us, they help keep out minds on our goals...and our humanity."

The undead sighed, his hand moving toward a little trinket he had around his neck, "While one can't stop us from becoming Hollow, memories of such things we hold precious can remind the Undead of who we once were and who we cared about. A sort of...light in the darkness."

When the darkness starts to consume the mind of an undead, focusing on a single thing can help strive off the madness for a time. Who you were, what you did, people you knew, or even something as simple as counting to ten. Whatever the case is, as long as someone has something they can focus on, turning Hollow is just a nightmare waiting to happen.

"Its...all we can do..." he muttered, holding onto the necklace around his neck, "...to stave off the dark."

Eyes softening just a tad, Jack quickly put the device into another pocket and continued to get dressed. However, the device he had found wasn't the only thing the boy had on his person. Reaching into another pocket, Jack uncovered something else...and something very different.

It was a dark, almost flame-like construct. It moved in his hand like a fire would in the wind, but it remained still while in Jack's palm. Unlike a fire though, this flame looked more black and purple then any fire Jack had ever seen. And just looking at this thing made Jack shutter. It was like something was wrong with it, like it wanted to be a flame to warm some up but it was...damaged.

Finally taking his attention away from his necklace, Javed looked to Jack to see if he was done getting dressed. What he saw however, made the Knight's body run cold.

"How..." he muttered, "How do you have that?!"

Confused, Jack turned his attention away from the flame and back to the Undead, "Do you know what this is? Because I seriously do-"

Any words Jack was about to speak were quickly forgotten however. Within a moments notice Javed had for some reason, marched over to Jack and grabbed him by the neck, slamming him into a wall with a forceful crack. The boy was instantly confused by this, but didn't bother to question it once he felt the familiar feeling of steel against his stomach.

"I know that soul..." he muttered, Jack's eyes widening as a result. The little thing he was holding is a...soul?

"When I found you there...at Darkroot Basin..." Javed's eyes were frantic, trying to figure out what was truly happening, "You had only those pitiful clothes on and some scraps of something else, so how..."

The Undead's voice cracked, his grip on his sword tightening.

"How do you have the soul of **_Artorias!_**"

The hold on Jack's neck was tightening, making it hard for him to breath. But the Undead did not care all that much. This boy had somehow come into the possession of a soul that shouldn't even exist anymore! It was impossible! He was sure of it! Javed had been there and seen such a thing personally!

Jack chocked out a small, 'I...d-don't know..." But other then that he couldn't say much, it felt as if his throat was being crushed. Which it was actually. The Undead was nearly at hysterics at this point.

"You WILL tell me!" It might be the memories from the time he had journeyed to that accursed place, but he would not forget. Every horrific thing he had witnessed was all there in that soul. So how did this boy have it?

His vision turning dark, Jack couldn't help but drop the soul in question. How could he hold onto it? The strength of a teenage boy was no match to a undead with a severe case of anger issues. Still, with the sight of the blackened soul floating between the two, Jack felt the strangle hold on his neck loosen until it completely vanished. Falling back to the ground, Jack coughed and wheezed a bit before staring up at the undead.

"I...do-don't know..." Jack tried to speak despite his broken voice, "It was just in my pocket...I don't know where it...came from."

Standing above the boy, the Chosen Undead glared down at that boy. It was the same excuse he had given Javed concerning how he got to Lordan. Could he seriously buy the same excuse two times in a row? Still, how else could he explain it? This was just too strange, even for the Chosen Undead's standards.

Letting the stress leave his shoulders, the Undead turned his back on Jack and started to make his way toward the staircase, "We're leaving."

Still coughing a bit, Jack slowly got to his feet, "B-but what about the-"

"Do with it as you please," Javed sneered before turning a toward the stairs, "I have terrible memories concerning that 'thing'...I do not wish to see it again."

Disappearing behind the stone wall, Jack turned his attention back toward this...soul.

Reaching down and taking hold of it, he had to wonder. Was this really a soul? Could something so small be something so important? Why was it black then and who was this 'Artorias' person that Javed mentioned? All of these things made Jack's head spin even more. This place, these people, this situation. Jack had only one way of describing it all.

"This place is insane." he muttered before pocketing the 'soul'. Despite its dark appearance, the soul had a warm feeling in his hands. It was like a conflicted thing, both and warm, light and dark. So what was the history of this thing? And how and the hell did he get it in the first place?

Still, Jack didn't have time to consider such things. Putting the last of the armor in place and pocketing the 'soul' (he still couldn't imagine this thing being a actual soul), Jack quickly ran after the undead. Turning the corner and running up the stairs, Jack was a bit relieved to see Javed leaning against a far wall near two passage in the wall.

"Indeed, those garments will do," the Undead nodded, "But, do you even know how to use those tools?"

He was referring to the sword and shield he had handed Jack along with the armor, "Not particularly," Using a crowbar to kill some Scraplets didn't seem like a good reference point for how to use a sword and shield.

"I should have known," The Undead shook his head, "Then you need me even more then I had thought."

"Thanks..."

Motioning the boy towards the entrance, Jack and the Knight came to a stop at a set of two elevators. They were ancient looking, one of them was missing its platform, and one of them were barred behind a metal fence, "This will take us up to the Undead Parish, we will make our way to my alley from there and hopefully have less creatures to deal with while in route."

Looking unsure at the aged device, Jack sighed, "Any idea what we might find on our way there?"

Walking onto the elevator, Javed sighed, "Hopefully if things go well, then nothing but a few undead and rodents."

"And if they don't?"

With Jack following after the Undead, Javed looked up at the tunnel above their heads, "Then I advice you boy. Keep your head down and prepare your shield. It will last but a few seconds against the fire above us."

"Fire?" Jack REALLY didn't like how he said that.

"Just, trust me boy." Pressing on a plate at the center of the platform, the lift soon started to rise up the massive tunnel. The sight of Firelink Shrine soon started to vanish from view as the duo ascended up into another portion of Lordan, the place the Chosen Undead had described as the Undead Parish.

The lift soon began to slow down after that, the duo arriving in just a few moments. Much to Jack's surprise (or lack there of), the two individuals had arrived in yet another church, one that seemed to be in much better condition then the previous one. It still had a roof (and a sturdy one mind you), the walls were in better shape, and there were even a few statues left from what Jack could tell.

Still, being in another church made Jack shake his head, "Man, you guys like churches don't you?"

"When your world is cursed to such a degree...the only real salvation one could find is in the gods, even if they answer or not." The Chosen Undead muttered, his entire body on guard. They were in dangerous territory now, and had to be on guard.

With their steps echoing through the church, Jack walked toward the structure's front entrance. It was the most obvious exit of course. But before he even made it past the first row of wooden seats, the Chosen Undead grabbed the boy by the arm and pulled him back, not making as much noise as possible.

"Wait but a moment," Javed shushed the young boy, "Look..."

Pointing over toward the entrance itself, Jack then noticed three figures standing guard over the entrance. They were tall individuals, a few feet taller then both Jack and the Chosen Undead. Clothed in a tattered red cape and shattered armor, the three looked to be rotting corpses from what Jack could see. Even their faces were decayed to a point where they looked more like skulls than a human's face. Wielding a large shield and sword, the three corpses watched the entrance intently, waiting to see if anyone would dare enter their domain.

"Now you see, these are what we speak of when we mention hollows..." he spoke as Jack stared at the creatures, "They are undead who have lost their minds, their bodies decaying with their humanity into nothing but husks of their former selves."

Such a thing made Jack sick. Going insane was one thing, but to become creatures such as this? It wasn't right, "Can't there be something done for them?"

But the Undead merely shook his head.

"Death breaks us. It is a constant suffering that makes the mind burn. We lose hope and with it, ourselves are lost to the madness..." The Undead lead Jack away from the hollows, instead focusing on a side entrance.

"As long as we are marked with the Darksign, there is no escape."

Reaching such a entrance however, Jack and the Undead soon discovered that this exit wasn't safe as well, with even more undead sulking outside as they were inside. Even worse, these undead quickly noticed the duo as they exited the church.

"Scrap..." Jack muttered as one of the undead aimed a crossbow at his head.

"Move!"

Diving out of the way as a crossbow bolt nearly took out of his eye, Jack rolled to the side as The Chosen Undead engaged two other Hollows in close combat. This however left Jack alone with the third, the Undead wielding the crossbow. Lifting his shield up in defense, Jack was nearly knocked off his feet as another bolt lodged itself into the leather shield.

Just barley holding his ground, Jack quickly seized and opportunity as the Undead archer reloaded his crossbow. Charging at the Hollow with his shield, the boy rammed into the undead and easily knocked it down due to its weakened body. This was not the end of the struggle however. Even knocked to the ground and without its weapon, the undead tried to fight back. Reaching for a sword on what remained of its belt, the undead started to rise.

Noticing this, Jack reluctantly took his shield with both hands and with a deep frown on his face, started to beat the hollow into the ground. Blow after blow, crack after crack, the boy did not stop until the creature released the hold it had on its sword. And by the time that actually happened, the boy's shield was drenched in blood.

Hands stained with blood, Jack dropped his shield with a gasp and looked at the hollow. It was still alive...somehow. Its head was neatly caved inward, its helmet having fallen off after Jack knocked the hollow to the ground. Even with that though, the creature still lived. A free hand still reaching for his sword, Jack sighed at the pitiful creature, wondering what he should do.

_**-Slick!-**_

Such a decision was out of his hands however when a sword quickly sliced the head off the cursed undead. Turning the bloodied body into nothing but ash, thus returning the hollow back to a bonfire, Javed sheathed his sword.

"Next time, just run him through," the Chosen Undead reminded the boy, "I can understand your reasoning, but undead such as him...living in such a state is only more suffering. A quick death is all they could ask for."

At the moment however, Jack was still a bit focused on the blood on his shield...and his hands. Shaking just a bit, the boy let loose a small sigh. He had never done something like this before and...he had no idea how to react to it.

"I'm...sorry." he muttered, the blood staining his sight.

Letting the boy have a moment to himself, the undead eventually offered to help him up, "Come then, we must continue. More hollows shall arrive soon." With a bonfire nearby, it was only a matter of time before the recently slain returned. The two had to be on their way before such a thing could happen.

Taking a deep breath, Jack eventually took the Chosen Undead's hand and stood up, his sword and shield in his hands. Now was not the time to be freaking out about such a thing. These things...were people at some point, but not anymore. They were shells of their former selves, nothing more...nothing less.

Jack knew that these stains wouldn't leave him...but could he seriously just sit there and mop about it? No, he had to push onward...this was something he would have to deal with later, even if he didn't want to.

"Right," Jack nodded, "Lets get going."

That brought a small smile to the Undead's face, "Good to hear."

Patting the boy on the shoulder, the Chosen Undead and the young human quickly departed. Leaving the recently (And temporary) dead behind them, the two still had somewhere to be. With the creatures in front of them, Jack and Javed could only hope that they could make it there in one piece.

However, doing so would prove to be much more difficult then they originally believed.

* * *

_Chapter 3, done! Was once again a set up chapter, but ends with some action. Jack might not be used to the violence of Lordan, but its something he might have to get used to from here on in. Still, I went a bit easy on him for now...that will end soon enough though._

_About the Chosen Undread's reaction to see Artorias' soul, I have a explanation of that. After seeing everything in Oolacile (And I mean EVERYTHING), I don't think anyone would want to see something that could bring such memories back up to the surface again._

_And why does Jack have that Soul? And why is his recent memories a bit messed up? Well, we shall see._

_Hell truely begins next chapter! So RxR everyone! I look forward to your opinions!  
_


	4. Undead Parish & the Oncoming Fire

_RxR please! I would like to see your comments!_

* * *

_Undead Parish & the Oncoming Fire._

* * *

Slow, precise, and careful steps had to be taken.

After fighting the three undead Jack and Javed, the Chosen Undead, had to be careful during their journey. The Undead Parish was quite dangerous, especially so for someone like Jack. Having very little to no combat experience, the undead that roamed the Parish were pratcially roaring for his death the moment they saw him.

Hell, Jack was sure that he wouldn't even have gotten three feet outside the lift before something happening to him if it wasn't for Javed accompanying him.

The Undead had experience with not only fighting his fellow undead, but Jack could tell that this wasn't the first time to the Undead Parish. With knowledge of where the undead would be and where to go, it would have been a mess if Jack had tried to find his way to this 'Solaire' character by himself. Not only would the Undead have torn him apart, but he would have gotten lost more often than Bulkhead breaks a piece of Ratchet's equipment.

Bulkhead...Ratchet...

The Autobots...Miko, Raf...and his mother. Thoughts of them sprang back into Jack's mind, what had truly happened to bring him to this place? What had happened to them? His recent memories were the most clouded of them all, but Jack could feel as if something terrible had happened and that might have been the cause of this arrival on Lordan.

Did something dangerous happen that caused him to be sent here? Were they okay? Did they know that he was gone? Were they concerned for him, wondering what happened to him? Did they miss him? Did they even car-

"Boy! Focus!"

Such thoughts were pushed aside however.

Quickly lifting his shield, Jack's arm suddenly felt as if someone had stepped snapped it in two as he blocked a slash from one of the Hollows. Pushing the undead away, Jack clumsily swung his own sword, striking the Undead's breastplate and forcing the creature back. The force of his blow wasn't that strong but it did give Jack a chance to kick the undead in the chest...and send it right into a burning body with a giant axe thrust in its back.

If Jack didn't feel like he was going to be sick before, he surely did now...

"Be sick when there are less Hollows tiring to gut you!" Javed yelled, decapitating another Undead solder before a arrow nailed him in the shoulder, "Bloody Archers!"

While making their way through the Undead Parish, the duo had unfortunately ran into some more Hollows. And while battling the ones on the ground weren't so bad, the two undead bowmen were getting on the nerves of the Chosen Undead. They were up above them and had a clear view of the entire area, they were in a prime position for cross-bowing.

So much so that the Chosen Undead was very tempted to run up to Archers and show them the business end of his sword. Unfortunately though, doing so would have left Jack vulnerable to their attacks for the brief moments it would take him to reach them, meaning that he would have to bear with it...for the moment.

Ripping the arrow from his shoulder, the Chosen Undead cut down another hollow before leading Jack away from the Church and as a result, the archers. Getting out of their range was easy, but now there was another problem.

A giant metal gate blocking their path.

"Great," Jack muttered, "I don't suppose there's a switch nearby, is there?"

Kicking the last remaining hollow down the path, the Chosen Undead sighed, "There is actually...on the other side of the gate."

"Figures."

Javed nodded, he had felt the same way when he had first come through the Undead Parish, "Indeed, but there is another route."

Off to the side there was a small opening, one that had two branching pathways. One that lead up into a tower and another that lead downward into some sort of lower chamber. Leading to the lower chamber was just a latter however, earning a bit of uncertainty from the young teen.

"We shall head downward, it leads to alternate pathway, one that will lead us to our destination."

A bit unsure about this, Jack looked at the barred gate and then back to the ladder. The latter of the choices wasn't as appealing since there he had no idea what was down there, but what other choice did he have? Its not like he had the strength to rip the gate apart or had an Autobot to tear the gate apart. There was no way through, so they had to go around.

"Right," Making his way over toward the ladder, Jack started to descend down it, one foot at a time. But before he could get a third of the way down, he suddenly found himself being yanked upward by the back of his shirt/armor, "What?!"

Looking up at the Undead, Jack saw Javed give him a knowing look, "I shall go first, you have no idea what is down there."

And considering that he was right...

"Alright..." Jack gestured toward the ladder, "After you."

Nodding, the Chosen Undead dropped Jack back on his feet before descending down the ladder himself, with Jack following closely behind. Arriving in the some kind of lower chamber after a few moments of climbing, Jack would soon come face to face with another creature of Lordan, one that wasn't undead.

Rats. Giant, disgusting, and infested rats. Maggot infested skin, decaying flesh, disgusting breath...and that smell.

Good thing that Jack didn't have a weak stomach...

"Don't let them get close..." Javed warned, drawing his sword, "They are quite infectious, a bite or two and you'll be bleeding out of your eyes in a day or two."

A wince followed as Jack positioned his shield between him and the rodents. If there was one thing he didn't want to deal with while he was here, it was being sick. Especially in a place like this, where everything looked like it was made of stone or wood. Jack severely doubted the chance of Lordan having a modern hospital anywhere nearby. It was...unlikely.

So, when the rats noticed the duo and scampered right toward them, Jack to his credit actually went to work fairly quickly. Due to the rats being clearly different from the undead, Jack had less resistance to the idea of using the sword Javed gave him. With these things never having been human, Jack didn't feel nearly as guilty when he shoved the blade into one of the rat's heads, causing the rodent to drop dead on the spot.

Removing the bloodied blade from the rat's skull, Jack sighed as his ally took care of the rest of the Vermin. Leaving three rotting corpses in the room, Javed said nothing as he lead Jack over to the only other exit to the room besides the way that came.

Seeing light, Jack nearly ran toward the doorway...

...until he noticed how far a drop it was outside.

"Whoa..."

Just outside the door was a small ledge, one that was overlooking a fairly large city and positioned next to a large bridge. Ignoring the bridge for a moment, Jack had to admit that while it wasn't as large as Jasper, he could easily tell that the city went on for quite a distance. That was especially true if the massive walls that surrounded the entire city, assuring to its gigantic size. And while the city was just as old fashioned as the rest of the places Jack had seen, it was all still quite impressive.

The teen just wished that he hadn't looked down though.

"Watch your step," The Chosen Undead warned, pushing the boy back just a bit, "Falling from such a height is no pleasant experience, I can assure you."

Taking another look at the giant drop, Jack couldn't help but agree, "Yeah, a big fall and a splat doesn't sound nice at all."

"It feels even worse," Turning to the left, the Chosen Undead slowly lead Jack along the small ledge toward openings in its under-section. On the way however, the two came across two more Undead Knights. Luckily though, they were able to make use of where they were at by kicking the Undead off the bridge and to their doom.

It was a messy solution, but it proved effective.

As they made their way through the bridge however, Jack noticed some strange looks Javed was making. It was like he was looking for something, his gaze constantly looking off to either side of the bridge above. The actions weren't quite that odd but they did make Jack wonder what he was looking at. Was it birds or something? Or were there some Archers trying to pick them off at a distance?

Whatever the case might have been, Jack soon felt himself forgetting about such questions as the two entered one of the support beams for the bridge. Quickly entering a nearly empty room, Jack released the breath he was unknowingly holding. He might not have a fear of heights, but fighting insane knights at such a height was...unpleasant.

"Please tell me that we're done with heights..." Jack asked, keeping a safe distance between him and the door they just entered from.

Luckily for him, the Chosen Undead nodded, "Aye, we are very close now. Just one more step and we shall be there."

Eyes widening, Jack looked toward the undead in surprise, "Really?! We're that close?"

With a quick nod, Javed then pointed toward the old looking staircase that laid just a few feet from the two, "Just up those stair will lead to the path, eventually leading us to Solaire. He will hopefully have some information on your predicament."

"What does he know exactly?" Jack had been curious about this ever since Javed mention this 'Solaire' character, but hadn't had a chance to ask until now. Fighting Undead like they had been was quite the distraction.

"Solaire was the first to introduce me to the concept of summon signs," The Chosen Undead explained, "In Lordan, there is a powerful practice that allows one to summon the spirits of others to their world in order to assist them in combat."

Summoning someone from another world to help you out? Sounds handy.

"And from what you told me, it sounds like something similar happened to yourself...only with all of you getting dragged here instead.", considering Jack's luck, that seemed almost expected.

That was something to be discussed later though, the two still had to get to Javed's friend after all.

Approaching the stairs, Javed quickly ordered Jack to remain just at the top of the stairs while he handled everything above them. For some reason, this gave Jack a terrible feeling in the back of his spine, but what other chose did he have? Its not like he was some great fighter...hell, he was lucky that he had gotten this far in the first place!

Still, all Jack could really do was wait for his 'friend' came to let him know when it was safe. Could Jack really consider this man a friend, seriously? He had just met the teen and yet he was helping him out like this. He seemed nice enough despite being a bit rough on the edges, and in a world like this such a thing was almost expected. The constant danger that filled this land, it was quite fitting for someone like him, especially considering all the Hollows they had faced so far.

Still, with the sounds of metal colliding with each other, maybe it was a good thing that Jack hadn't gone up there. He likely would have just gotten in the way. He might have been able to hold off a Hollow or two, but Jack was no fighter. Not in the same league as the Chosen Undead at least.

These thoughts didn't last long however and were soon replaced by the sound of footsteps against stone.

Rushing back towards the stairs, the Chosen Undead quickly called to Jack, "Come, now! We must move before it-"

**_-FOOSH!-_**

A roaring blast of heat knocked the teen backwards, sending him flying down the stairs. Colliding headfirst into the ground, Jack cursed as he rubbed the back of his head. What in the hell was that? Was it some Undead or something? Why hadn't Javed warned him about tha-

"Javed!" Jack screamed, the man was still up there!

Feet pounding against the stairs, Jack quickly made his way back towards where his friend should have been. Reaching the top of the staircase however, Jack nearly dropped to his feet right then and there at what he saw.

The bridge was scorched, the stone pathway still smoking due to whatever had flown across it. Corpses were scattered among the rocky surface, all of them roasted to a point where it was nearly impossible to tell who was who. And that unfortunately included Javed as well, the poor man having been taken off guard due to having been talking to Jack at the time. He had momentarily forgotten about the threat that constantly patrolled the bridge until it was too late.

So there the Undead laid, his armor roasted and smoking as blood drooled from his mouth.

"No...no, no, no..." he muttered, his arms hanging at his side. He then slowly approached the burning corpse, still in shock at what had happened. Jack was shaking, his eyes hollow at what he was seeing. He was dead...there was no way that he was alive...and...

This was his fault, Javed had been helping him...he had put the man here...

Why? Why did this have to happen? They were so close, its what Javed had said. Yet, just a minute or two away from safety, this had happened. Its like fate had grabbed the rug from under them and tossed them aside! Now, Javed was dead, having been burned to death by... fire? That was all that he knew, that fire was involved somehow.

"What the hell..." he muttered.

Reaching for the body with shaking fingers, Jack had to force his hands back before he burned himself on the melting leather. It had to take some impressive heat to do damage like this...so had done it?

Getting knocked backwards had made the boy miss the entire thing. There were no other undead around, the corpses proved that. But if it wasn't one of them, then who had done it? It also wasn't an explosion, this was too widespread for that. An explosion also wouldn't have burned the bodies like this, it would have torn them apart due to its force and shrapnel. So what in god's name could have done this?

However, the truth would soon reveal itself...much to Jack's horror.

With a sudden growl coming from the far side of the bridge, Jack reluctantly turned away from Javed's corpse and looked toward the source of such a sound. And what he saw...he didn't believe it.

Standing on the opposite side of the bridge was..a Dragon.

Jack was in awe at the sight of the creature. Its red scales, its massively long neck, the dozens of spiky scales, and those wings. It could have been something truly out of a storybook if not for the fact that it looked far sinister. Still, when compared to the Undead he had seen, this creature was a marvel to behold. It almost reminded Jack of the time he fist met the Autobots. Giant creatures that should in no way be real but instead, they were standing right in front of him.

However, there was one major difference between this situation and that.

The Autobots were friendly beings to Jack and his friends. The Dragon however? Just the stare he was getting from the monstrous creature told Jack that this creature did not want to be friends. Especially after what it had done to the Chosen Undead and...everyone else on the bridge.

With a careful step or two, Jack tried to inch himself toward the stairs behind him, to escape this monster's wrath.

However, the Dragon was not about to let that happen.

With one flick of its head, the bridge once again felt itself being consumed by fire...with Jack along with it this time. The boy tried to put up his shield like his friend had warned him about earlier, but as he mentioned back then...it only lasted for a few seconds at most. Soon, the leather shield was nothing but roasted ash, and Jack was completely vulnerable to the fire raining down on him.

**_-Foosh!-_**

_'Oh God!'_ Those words echoed though Jack's mind, the last thing he could think of before the fire collided with his body.

It burned. Oh god, how it burned. Everything was on fire, his armor, his skin, his hair, and his eyes. It was like a thousand swords were being stabbed into his body, all at once. Jack wanted to scream but nothing came out. All opening his mouth did was allow the fire to travel down his throat, burning him from the inside out.

He couldn't bare the pain, it was far too much...hell, Jack couldn't even take a moment to notice a strange glowing light emerging from one of his pockets.

All he could do was sit there as the fire consumed him, darkness eventually claiming him once more...the burning sensation vanishing as Jack descended into a pitch black void...

* * *

_Where…where was he?_

_Jack looked around, still on his knees. All he could see for miles was pitch darkness, nothing at all besides that. Just a chilling void of nothing but silence and blackness. It gave him a chilling feeling up his spine, the darkness; it felt like it was watching him. It felt as if it was waiting for a moment to strike him…or to take him. Neither of which were promising concepts to Jack._

_Walking around for a moment, Jack nearly cursed. This wasn't what he was meant to be doing; he had to find that friend of…Javed. _

_Javed, the poor man, burned alive and left to rot on that bridge with the others. _

_All while Jack just sat there and did nothing. But what could he have done? Pull the man out of the inferno? All that would have done was gotten Jack burned himself! Sure, he still ended up getting burned anyway but he could have at least tried to help him! Hell, Jack didn't even see him die! All he did was discover the left overs after it had all happened!  
_

_But still, the images of a man staggering for a moment, trying to stay on his feet…only to fall to his knees and then to the ground seconds later, dead? All while he was being burned alive in a constant and torturous manner? It was a haunting image in his mind._

_Burning flesh, cooked armor, and skin flayed. All of it made Jack nearly have the urge to empty his stomach on the spot._

_The other Undead on the bridge suffered the same fate as well, roasted alive by that massive dragon. _

_A Dragon. _

_Such a thing didn't seem real to Jack. Sure, Autobots being Giant transforming robots, he understood that. But a Dragon? A real life Dragon? A gigantic red creature with long wings, sharp claws, and breath that could melt steel? That was only meant to be in fairy tales or something! And yet, here he was, suffering the same fate as his friend. Getting burned alive by a massive dragon. Such a fate wasn't something Jack was looking forward to._

**_"None seek to be burned to ash by a massive Dragon, which is not uncommon."_**

_Head shooting up, Jack looked around. That voice, it was someone else's. Meaning that he wasn't along in this Abyss after all!_

_**"Abyss? Trust me boy, this is far from the Abyss. This is just your mind…"** the voice echoed out again, **"One that is…far emptier then I imagined it to be."**_

_'Very Funny.' Jack muttered, not able to resist commenting on the jab the voice had made at himself.  
_

_The voice seemed to chuckle at this, **"It was not my intention to be, but to finally meet thou...tis a grand thing in my opinion. Thous kind has always been quite a question upon my tongue, and meeting you has proven to be quite an insight into it all."**_

_'Great for you maybe,' Jack grumbled, 'I don't even know whats going on!'  
_

_Hell, despite all the explanations Jack had gotten...he still had no idea what was going on! He was in what seemed to be a medieval world with Undead walking around, curses, and of course Dragons! He was only a High School Student! One that dealt with Giant Robots before admittedly but...this was outside his area of expertise! _

_**"Oh course you don't,"** the voice echoed again. This time though, Jack could hear the sounds of footsteps too along with the voice, almost if they were approaching him, **"But for one such as yourself, that shouldn't be a surprise."**  
_

_Looking toward the source of these sounds, Jack was meet with a familiar looking figure. Despite lacking the decaying mist and broken arm, Jack could recognize that armor anywhere. It was the same armor from his dream, worn by the same massive figure. But something was different about him. Besides not trying to kill the teen, he was standing up straight and...talking to him? The last time Jack saw this figure (not quite sure if he was a man or not), he tried to kill the young boy with that massive Greatsword of his!_

_**"That,"** The Knight pointed out, **"was not a dream."**_

_'Excuse me?'_

_Shaking his head, the Knight approached Jack, who was obviously a bit carious around the knight. The only experience the two have had with each other so far was a fairly traumatic event involving a disgusting creature getting skewered and a sword nearly cutting Jack in half. _

_**"Or perhaps it was,"** The Knight thought for a moment, **"Tis hard to tell, but it was more then an illusion, that I can promise you."**_

_Jack sighed, 'You're not making much sense.'_

_The Knight waved his hand, **"That is a common occurrence in a land such as this, you tend to come accustom to it." **_

_Considering how calm Javed and the other knights had been to stuff like this...that did make some sense somewhat. Huh, making sense when talking about not making sense at all...  
_

_What?_

_**"Ah, I am truly starting to like you boy,"** the Knight laughed, **"It only makes me wish that we hadn't met in such a predicament."**_

_'Yeah? Burning to death is quite the downer...' Jack mumbled._

_The knight shook his head however,** "No not that, but you are in quite the situation however..."**_

_That however made Jack even more confused (and curious), 'Wait, what is that suppose to-'**  
**_

_**"My apologize,"** The Knight interrupted him, looking at the sky as if the sun was setting, **"But it seems like our conversation is coming to an end."**_

_Looking around, Jack could see what he meant. The Darkness that made up his 'mind' was starting to close in on them like a snake constricting around its prey. Soon it the would and they were in would be gone. Jack would likely wake up to...god knows what. The last thing he remembered was being burned alive...so what and the hell would he wake up to? Spending the last few moments burning to death or something? He sure as hell didn't want that.  
_

_**"As I told you, such a fear is not uncommon."** If it wasn't for the fact that they were in his head already, Jack would have asked the Knight to stop reading his mind._

_Sighing as the dream...if it was as such came to an end, Jack looked over to the Knight, 'I heard you the first time...'_

_**"Indeed,"** The Knight scratched his chin before turning away,**"Perhaps I will not have to repeat myself the next time we have words."**  
_

_'What?! Wait! Hold on for a second!' Jack yelled in defiance, 'Could you at least tell me your name!?'_

_The Knight seemed to chuckle at that even while he vanished, **"Why bother? You have already been told such a thing..."**_

**_"And besides, that title doesn't just belong to me anymore."_**

* * *

_Somewhere else, same time:_

Rushing his way through the streets of the Undead city, the Chosen Undead growled to himself as he ducked and weaved through multiple hollows. He had the urge to smack himself in his head as a hollowed knight sliced into his side.

"Damn it! Out of my way!" he sneered, beheading the creature before moving on his way.

How? How in Gywn's name did he forget about that accursed dragon!? He was so certain that it was safe, that the dragon was gone for the time being. But of course, the reptilian vermin just had to appear at the worst possible time. And now what was he suppose to do? Run all the way back to that dreaded bridge while that boy was there all alone...with that dragon.

A Dragon of all things! Not a hollow, not a demon...but a Dragon.

Still, during all of this the undead couldn't help but question...why did he care? Death was simply a common thing in Lordan. So the idea of this boy dieing, even if it was permanent was nothing too surprising.

Was it because of his failings so far? So many people have died during his journey, a few he even could have prevented. Laurentius of the Great Swamp for example, the free going pyromancer who taught Javed more than a few things. If only he had not told that fool about the chaos pyromancy he had discovered. If that had not happened, the man wouldn't have been tempted and entered Blighttown as a result. That accursed swamp, filled with such diseases and filth...he wouldn't have hollowed if it wasn't for Javed's actions.

How about Anastacia of Astora? The silent keeper of the bonfire at Firelink Shrine? It was his fault that the treacherous fend, Knight Lautrec of Carim had killed the girl. The Chosen Undead had released the man from his prison and didn't take a moment to notice the sinister intentions he had for the poor girl. And while he had been able to avenge the maiden and return her to life, her death was still his fault.

And that doesn't even cover the ones that suffer because he hadn't the heart to kill them. Like Quelaag. the guardian of the Bell of Awakening in Blighttown. He had filled her, only to discover that she was doing this for a sister...a sister that was constantly suffering due to her condition. Blind, weak, and on the verge of death due to the toxicity of Blighttown, the only reason Javed couldn't kill her was because she was the keeper of a bonfire. He needed her to be alive...and kind woman suffers constantly because of it.

All of these, it tore him up inside...and yet, this was his chance.

This boy, this living human...this was his chance for redemption. If he saved this boy, maybe he could atone for his sins. Maybe it was simply for his sake, the guilt eating away at his mind. If he saved Jack and helped him return to his home...a home free of the Darksign and the plague that consumes Lordan, then maybe his guilt will lesson.

The Chosen Undead will never be free of his sins...but his small comfort may help him cope with it all.

Yet, this was all in jeopardy now! All because of one simply moment of forgetfulness!

"Agh!" Ignoring the wounds the hollows had dealt to him, the Chosen Undead quickly made his way through the pits of the Undead Berg. It might have been wiser to take the lift again, but he was just too much in a rush and his memory had gotten the better of him. Having rushed through the hollow filled streets of the city far too many times to remember, the undead was far too used to doing such instead of using the lift.

Still, he was making remarkable time however. It may have been due to him not being as careful but at the moment he really didn't care. If he could get back to the bridge...he could still help the boy, just maybe.

Maybe no hollows had discovered him yet, and maybe that Dragon hadn't...

"No!" he yelled at himself. He couldn't even consider that...not if he was going to keep this disillusion about freeing himself of his guilt. It was one of the small things he could do to keep himself from going hollow and turning into one of the same pitiful creatures he often killed. Javed would not give up on this so easily...

But upon reaching the bridge after slaughtering countless undead, Javed felt his heart sink.

Just as it was when he perished, the bridge was ablaze. Fire was spewing off the side of the stone structure, burning everything and rendering everything to ash. All the corpses (including his own) were gone by now, either ash due to the undead being reborn at a bonfire or just by the flames themselves.

If Jack had came up to check on him after the Dragon had killed him...

"No." Javed shook his head. He refused to believe that, not until he saw the boy's body personally would he believe that.

As the Flames slowly started to die down, the Chosen Undead took a deep breath. With the Dragon in the area, he had to be quick. If he could make it to the center of the bridge, he could check on Jack and everything would be alright...hopefully.

However just as the undead was about to make his attempt, he noticed something.

At the center of a bridge was a figure, a inhumanly tall one to be precise. It was massive, with a incredibly large shield protecting it from the fire and a Greatsword stabbed into the ground besides the figure itself. Covered in armor (surprisingly clean armor too) from head to toe, Javed narrowed his eyes at the figure, why was it just standing there? Did it not know about the Dragon? Most undead, even the most insane would be running for their lives at the sight of the beast. But this one was just standing there like he had awoken from a nap.

Still smoking from the fire's heat, Javed watched as the figure stood up straight. Doing so however made Javed notice the figure's full appearance, shocking the man to his core.

"Tis not..." The Chosen Undead was dumbstruck with what he was looking at, "..n-not possible."

Face obscured by a blue hood, the figure turned to look at the Chosen Undead. Tilting his head, the unknown man looked curiously at the Chosen Undead, more confused than anything else. This resulted in the man who had defeated the guardians of the Bells of Awakening taking a step back or two, utterly frozen at who he was looking at. It just wasn't possible.

The man he was looking at was dead...but, who else would wield a Geatsword like that, and who else would wear such armor? It couldn't be anyone else...

...but...

"A...Artorias?..."

* * *

_Hope you like my characterization of 'My' version of the Chosen Undead. He is similar to my play-style of the Chosen Undead during my first run of Dark Souls. Forgetting what happens to Laurentius when you tell him about a 'Chaos' pyromancy and what happens to Anastacia if you leave that backstabber alive. And of course, Quelaag's sister. I can't bring myself to kill her, I feel so bad though..._

_I hope it helps give him a reason to help Jack. Lordan is filled with death, and helping the boy is perhaps a small way for him to pay back all those who he has failed._

_He just doesn't know about the other sacrifices he will encounter later on._

_And finally, I do hope you like how I did the 'voice' in this chapter too. I'm sure most of you know how he is now and know I did my best with what we know about him, especially his attitude towards humans he displayed his his dropped dialogue.  
_

_RxR please! I would like to see your comments!_


	5. Praise the Sun

_RxR please! I would like to see your comments!_

* * *

_Chapter 5: Praise the Sun._

* * *

As Jack awoke, a soaring pain filled his body. He felt limp, just barley standing on his feet. It felt like something had ran over him like a train...

...or a pillar of fire.

The memories of the Dragon's fire were still fresh in his mind, burning his body to the very core. It was hell, a hell that he couldn't even find the right words to describe it. The leather armor he had been wearing was burned to his skin, creating a tormenting sensation over his entire body. His eyes had piratically melted, his bones were cracking under the heat, and god, his internal organs felt as if they had burst from the increasing temperature alone.

And yet, that was only a few seconds in the blaze. Jack could only imagine the hell he should of been feeling as the fire extinguished his life.

So, why wasn't he burning then?

Looking around, Jack could easily tell that he wasn't burning anymore. In fact, just being able able to...think straight meant that he wasn't being burned from the inside out anymore. Hell, Jack figured that his brain would have been mush by now.

So, how wasn't he a pile of ash at the moment? He had been standing on a stone bridge, its not like there was anything around that could have put him out. Jack's fate should have been the same as the other hollows and Javed himself..and yet, it wasn't.

Slowly glancing at the area around, Jack was relieved to find himself back on the bridge in the Undead Berg once again. Sure, it wasn't the best place he could think of...but it was better than being thrown somewhere different again. Especially if one were to consider the last few times that happened...

"God, this is just giving me a head-" he grumbled, moving to rub his aching head.

**-Clank-**

Jack raised a eyebrow, "Huh?"

Looking down (why did the ground seem farther away than it should be?), the boy noticed that his hand was covered in something fairly different than how it was before the dragon cooked him alive. Instead of a leather glove that should have been mush at this point, the boy had a hand covered in a metal gauntlet. One that looked quite familiar.

Momentarily noticing the hood he was wearing (the blue material was actually doing a good job in hiding his face), Jack then turned his gaze downward and noticed that it wasn't just his glove that had changed. Covering his entire body was a massive suit of silver armor, no sign of his previous attire anywhere to be seen. It was a armor that would have normally felt far too heavy for someone like Jack, but for some reason it didn't. In fact, it felt much more comfortable than the leather armor he had been wearing before.

But...where had it come from? And still, why wasn't he on fire? This just made no sense...

* * *

_The Knight waved his hand, **"That is a common occurrence in a land such as this, you tend to come accustom to it."**_

* * *

"Ah, right..." Jack grumbled, "Forgot about that."

Resisting the urge to pinch his nose in frustration, Jack just let his arms fall to his side (causing a audible 'clank').

At the other end of the bridge was a lone figure. It looked like a knight actually, and not just a hollowed one. This one actually seemed normal-ish since it wasn't slouching or trying to kill something out of random. In fact, it almost looked like...

"Javed?" the boy wondered out loud. But it couldn't be his friend, his friend was dead. Burned to ash by the Dragon that-

The Dragon. Jack had forgotten about the Dragon.

"Shit."

Turning around as fast as he could, Jack caught the Dragon just as it was about to set the bridge ablaze again. And of course, he wanted to have nothing to do with that. So, Jack quickly grabbed his sword and shield and rolled off to the side, just narrowly avoiding another pillar of fire.

**_-Fwoosh!-_**

Slamming his back against the stony surface of the bridge, Jack let out a sigh once the fire flew safely past him. The Dragon's fire was quite hot at THIS range, so getting any closer was not something Jack was willing to do at this point. Hell, he had somehow escaped getting roasted once already but he wasn't willing to test his luck again.

Facing away from the fire, Jack finally noticed another change that had occurred. His sword and his shield.

No longer was he holding a bland looking blade, but instead it was something much more. The weapon was massive now, easily reaching a length that might even match Jack's current height (he was taller, his legs were far longer than he remembered) and was much sharper than his original sword was. This one also had a unworldly feel to it as well, something Jack couldn't quite point his finger on. For some reason, he had a feeling that hollows weren't the only creatures he could cut down with this sword.

That aside, Jack then turned to the other change that had occurred, his shield...if he could call it such anymore. Instead of the small yet reasonable shield he had before (which Jack realized, had been reduced to ash by the Dragon's fire), Jack now had in his hands something much larger. More of a Great-Shield, the massive wall of metal sat in the boy's hand in resonance with the sword he was wielding, as if they matched each other.

Jack sighed, letting the two weapons fall to the ground, "Resonating? What am I thinking?"

Things were just getting stranger and stranger for Jack, and he had a feeling that trend wouldn't be changing anytime soon.

And, almost if provoked by such a feeling, Jack shouldn't have been THAT surprised with what happened next.

Amongst waiting for the fire to stop (that Dragon had to have a pair of big lungs to breathe fire for so long), Jack's mind drifted back to that strange figure he had seen at the other end of the bridge. It had looked so familiar, even if Jack hadn't been able to get that good of a look at it.

"This place is weird enough already..." he muttered to himself, "...could that have been...?"

But Jack didn't have long to think about such a thing.

For when the fire finally started to dissipate, the boy suddenly found himself being tackled by something. And unfortunately for him, Jack had sat right next to the top of the stairs, resulting in both of the two falling down said stairs in quite a painful fashion. His armor might have felt more comfortable than his last one...but that didn't mean falling down stairs would be any less painful.

Back slamming into the hard floor of the room the stairs had ended them up in, Jack slowly reached up to rub his aching head. While doing so however, the boy felt a sudden pressure on his stomach and when he opened his eyes...there was a sword in his face.

Truly, this was becoming a common thing in Lordran for him.

With one good look at the person holding the sword however, Jack's eyes widened. His eyes had not been deceiving him.

The Chosen Undead looked the same as Jack remembered him. The only real difference was the fact that he wasn't a smoking corpse, which was remarkable when one considered the chard state that his body was in previously. However, this didn't seem to help the man's mood. In fact, he seemed even more angry than the last time Jack saw him to, which would explain the knee in his chest and the sword at his neck.

"Boy," he growled, "...I am at my wits end."

"Either you explain what in the Abyss is going on," he pushed his sword forward, "...or I'll gut you right here and now."

The Chosen Undead grabbed Jack by the shoulder and pushed him down, "First you appear without an explanation, among the dead in DarkRoot Basin. Unaware of the world around thyself, you then somehow have the Soul of a Knight who was far gone from this world upon your person..."

"And now...you survive a Dragon's breath, and take his form for yourself?!" he growled, hands tightening, "I will not simply take a 'I don't know' this time, boy."

A moment passed in silence, with Jack processing what his 'friend' had demanded while Javed glared through his helmet.

Despite how random and strange Lordran could be, the Chosen Undead could only stand so much. And with this mysterious child now taking the form of one of the greatest knights in the land's long history? No, he couldn't let this pass, not this time. This boy had to answer for his actions or else he would suffer, there was no doubt about it.

However, combined with the irritation Jack has been having due to the mental conversation he just had and the fact that he was just thrown down some stairs...

Jack's answer was a bit more blunt than Javed had hoped.

With his eyes narrowing, Jack promptly lifted one of his (noticeably longer) legs and kicked the Chosen Undead in the chest. His boot was massive, nearly as long as the man's chest as he pushed him away. Doing so easily sent the man flying across the room in an instant, complementing the new strength that was granted with Jack's new form.

Lumbering upward (still not used to his new center of gravity), Jack lifted his armored limb and reached for his sword, his gauntlet covered hand grasping the sword's handle. Lifting the massive weapon upward with a slight effort, Jack pointed the blade's tip directly at the Chosen Undead, stopping just under the man's chin. His hand trembling just a tad, Jack kept the man at a distance as he regained his composure.

"Listen to me," giving him only one warning, Jack tried to remain calm, "I get it, you're confused. And please understand, so am I..."

Javed growled, "Stop with these pathetic delusions! How could one such as yourself gain his form without your knowledge!? How could you be wearing his skin like a common rug and yet know nothing about what goes on?!"

The Chosen Undead was furious, the urge to bat the boy's sword away was just itching on the edge of his mind. With his hand trembling, he could easily disarm the lad and behead him before he could even gasp. But remarkably, he stayed his hand. For what reason? He didn't know. But whatever the case may be, he let the bot speak his mind.

"Damn It! I-Don't-Know!" Jack yelled, stomping his boot into the ground for emphasis, "I don't remember what happened! All I know is that there was the Dragon, then I had a strange dream, and then 'Poof', I'm a giant in fancy armor!"

That truly was his best explanation for the recent events, no matter how ridiculous and simple it sounded. And to a Knight like Javed, it did sound fairly odd to be sure.

"And you truly expect me to believe that?" The Chosen Undead was not impressed, "Tis but a fantasy that you aim to shove down my throat. A blatant lie, one that thou really believes I shall swallow so easily?"

"Honestly? No, I don't." Javed raised a brow at such a response, so Jack continued, "I don't expect a damn thing really, but its all I got."

He sighed, his voice taking a much calmer tone when compared to his frantic speech from before, "I just want to go home, thats all. I don't want any treasure from this place or to kill anyone. I don't want to mess with anyone's heads like you think I might. Hell, I don't even want to just sit around a bonfire like you guys do."

"I just want to go home...to my friends and my family." Jack nearly whispered, "And...I'll deal with anything this place throws at me if I have to. Even if it means you too."

Silence quickly emerged once Jack had finished, neither of the two speaking even a single word. Jack stood there with his arm extended, sword still in his hand. He had just pleaded his case with everything he had. Now he could only hope that the man could understand, even if it was only party. Because honestly, Jack wasn't sure if he could take him otherwise. He wasn't that good of a fighter and with his new appearance...Jack wasn't sure if he could even last five seconds.

"So," Jack cautiously asked, "Can we go check with your friend now, or are you going to try and kill me again?"

With his sword still pointing at the Undead, Jack watched as the man in question remained silent. Casually touching the tip of the boy's sword as if it was nothing, the Chosen Undead let out a small chuckle, "Truly, sitting around a bonfire is the least exciting thing we do."

As a bit of blood trailed down his thumb, Javed shook his head, "But to reach Solaire, we need to get past that Dragon first."

Still a bit cautious, Jack lowered his sword, "And do you have any idea how to do that?"

Even if it was concealed by his helmet, the Chosen Undead smirked, "Oh yes, I do indeed."

Turning to the side, Jack watched as the Chosen Undead reached toward his back and grabbed a small composite bow from off his armor. Then after snatching a small arrow from a quiver on his belt, the Undead motioned toward a the doorway that the two had used to reach their current location just awhile ago.

"Be prepared to run when I return." he warned before stepping through the stone doorway, leaving Jack more than a bit confused. What could he be doing over there that could get them past the Dragon? The accursed beast was on the other side of the bridge above them and Jack highly doubted that a simple arrow could do all that much.

His luck however, would soon demonstrate why it was so horrible to the boy.

With an earsplitting roar echoing through the air, Jack resisted the urge to cover his ears as they were assaulted by the excruciating screech. However, just as the roar started to die down, Jack noticed his companion sprint back into the room and toward the stairs.

"What was tha-"

"RUN!"

Grabbing Jack's arm before he could even mutter a 'what?' in response, the Chosen Undead quickly dragged the boy up the stairs (which was harder than it sounded due to his larger size) and onto the bridge. Once the two were above ground however, Jack quickly noticed that the Dragon had vanished from its previous position. No longer was the beast on the other side of the bridge, no...

Instead, it standing at the center...right in front of them, in all its terrifying glory...and Jack quickly realized how much more horrifying the massive creature was when viewed up close.

"Holy..." the boy muttered before nearly having his arm ripped off.

"Don't STOP!" Javed quickly yelled, not stopping even for a moment as he pulled the shell-shocked boy along.

Running toward the monster's legs, Jack and Javed just narrowly dodged the dragon's massive gaping jaw as it tried to consume them in one bite. As the stone bridge shook once the beast's mouth collided with the stoney surface, the two humans ran between Dragon's legs and toward the very same portion of the bridge where the Dragon once stood.

Upon reaching the massive doorway that had teased them previously, Jack and the Chosen undead quickly dove to the side as a burning sensation creaped up their spines. With the sound of earth shattering footsteps behind them, the two didn't dare to turn around. They didn't wish to see the massive Dragon glaring down at them, or to see it once again try to burn them alive.

So instead, they hid behind the walls of the fortress, allowing the aging stone to protect them from the beast's flames for one last time.

**_-Fwoosh!-_**

When the fire dissipated however, the two slowly peered out from their cover and looked toward where the Dragon should have been. But much to their delight, the Dragon was gone for the moment, the bridge clear of its scaly hide.

"Well," Jack sighed, slipping down onto the floor, "That was fun..."

The Chosen Undead let out a huff, "Indeed..."

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Jack watched as the Chosen undead pushed off the wall and made his way toward the center of the room. Luckily for him, there happened to be a bonfire there, just in front of a nearby statue. Quite convenient.

Jack shook his head, "Undead...right."

The first hing an Undead would do after getting past something like a Dragon would be to visit a Bonfire...especially if the beast burned him alive in the process. Still, such a thing wasn't something Jack was interested in. Instead, Jack found his interest gained by something else.

Sitting next to the boy was a large lever, one that was placed right next to the massive gate from before. The same gate that had forced Jack and Javed to take the alternate route in the first place, the reason why they had to deal with the Dragon at all.

"Oh yes..." Jack muttered, pushing himself upward and marching over to the contraption. Taking hold of the lever with one hand, Jack effortlessly activated the device, the sound of gears turning in the background. And much to his delight, the Gate shook for a moment before lifting upward, exposing the boy to a set of stairs that would lead him back to the Undead Parish.

Meaning that they wouldn't have to deal with that Dragon ever again...hopefully.

"Damn straight." Jack scoffed before picking up his sheild and sword, balancing the latter on his shoulder. Due to the sword's great length, carrying it in such a manner was much easier than just lugging it around.

With Javed still sitting around the bonfire, Jack let loose a sigh and walked over to him, "Hey, you doing alright?"

Not even turning around, the Undead waved off the boy's concern, "Yes, yes. Just taking a moment to rest is all."

Jack could understand that. After getting burned alive once and nearly having it happen again, anyone would have been tired.

"Right, sorry."

A sigh escaping him, Javed turned back to the boy, "Its quite alright. That was a tiring experience for the both-"

But the man's words died in his throat when he gazed at the boy's form. Up close and personal, the Chosen Undead could see all the indents and marks that made up the boy's armor. It might have been in a better condition than he remembered, but that armor still awoke memories in Javed's mind. And how Jack held that sword just clinched the deal.

Having noticed the strange look, Jack tilted his head in confusion, "What?"

Eyes focusing just a bit too long, Javed shook his head and focused back on the bonfire in front of him, "Tis nothing, just...old memories popping up again."

The flames dancing in his eyes, the Chosen Undead sat upward and got to his feet before Jack could mutter a response. If he was correct, then Solaire was just in the next room. No need to focus on his withered memories when their goal was right there in front of them.

"Right then," he announced before turning to Jack, "Time to see what this is all about, wouldn't you say?"

Giving him only a nod, Jack grabbed his shield and followed the Chosen Undead into a room that stood on the opposite side of the chamber, across where the gate once stood. Having to duck under the stone entrance due to his new height (Hell, he even had to squeeze through it due to being much too small for someone like him now), Jack found himself in a outdoor section of the Undead Parish.

Comparable to a small courtyard, Jack became a bit concerned when he noticed a few hollows occupying the area. But upon closer inspection, Jack noticed they were...different.

Even when compared to the decaying bodies of the dead they had fought on their journey, these ones were even more grotesque. They were covered in nothing but a bunch of rags, displaying to everyone how shriveled up and weak their bodies were. Bald and with sunken eyes, they held on a single thing. A sword that had been broken in half.

The creatures were the true fate of the undead, a undead who had hollowed to the very brink. Their minds and bodies had decayed to the point of no return. There was nothing left, no rational thoughts or movements. They simply existed, moving like blind rates in the darkness. These were no longer men, or even undead. They were husks, the fate of humanity if completely consumed by the Darksign.

Such a horrifying fate, Jack tried to ignore them as Javed led him toward the center of the courtyard. There stood a risen part of the yard, aged much more than the rest of the stone complex and grass growing among a ruined statue. It was a surprisingly peaceful location, with a steady stream of sunlight shining down from above. And standing at the center of this grassy patch was a unknown figure to Jack, one very different from the husks nearby.

It was a man, standing about the same height as Javed. Suited in a large bucket-like helmet and a set of chain-mail armor with a thin cloth covering its front and back, Jack nearly gaped when he noticed an insignia imprinted on the man's armor. It was a stylistic image of a sun, a face depicted at its center. Armed with a sword on his belt and a shield with that same symbol on its surface, the man turned toward the two people approaching him.

Recognizing one of them, the man let out a cheerful laugh, "Ah! My friend! Its good to see you again! How has your journey been? Smooth summoning out there?"

Jack was a bit taken back by just how...happy the man sounded. The only person he had seen so far that was anything like this was Siegmeyer. And even then, the onion knight had a saddened tone underneath his words. But this man was...something else.

The Chosen Undead chuckled at his friend's words, "Been quite a bit busy my friend, but its nice to see you as well."

Laughing heartily at his friends response, the man then noticed Jack, "A shame to hear that, but who is this accompanying you? He seems to be quite the warrior if his appearance seems to be anything to go by."

Hearing such a first impression, Jack had two reactions to that. On one hand, Jack was slightly glad to see that he didn't react as harshly as Javed did. Yet, the fact that the man had imminently figured that he was a warrior of some kind was a bit off-putting for the teen. He wasn't a fighter (or, at least he wasn't a very good one), and he yet...Jack had a feeling that this new form of his was going to get that reaction from nearly everyone he met from then on.

A giant covered in armor could get a reaction like that fairly easily.

"Heh," Javed shook his head at such a claim, "Appearances can be deceiving."

Extending his arm toward Jack, the Chosen Undead chuckled, "This my friend is Jack, a very...interesting individual I had discovered some time ago."

Jack couldn't help but frown at that, feeling as if he should have been insulted by that. But, he let it pass.

"And this boy," Javed addressed Jack now, "Is the man I have been telling you about. This is Solaire of Astora."

By that point, Jack had figured who this man was quite easily. Although, he had been surprised by the man himself. So far, Jack had only met around three other people during his time in Lordran, with everyone else being either a hollow or a Dragon. So seeing a new 'face' was something he appreciated, even if Solaire seemed a bit odd. Still, if that meant Jack could finally head back home, he had no reason to complain.

Solaire seem to brighten up at that, "So, you've been spreading my name around? Such an honor, I thank you good sir." the knight nodded before Solaire turned to Jack, having to look upward at him due to his larger height, "And I welcome you sir Jackson, its always nice to see a new face among the hallowed steps of Lordran."

"Um, the pleasure is mine?" Jack honestly had no idea how to react, so he went the easy route.

"Indeed it is," Javed added, "But with the introductions aside, we actually came for your assistance my friend."

"Ah, you have need of me?" Solaire asked the duo, "Well, by all means. How could I be of service? Need some jolly cooperation? You know that you hadn't needed to come to me for this, only to discover my summoning sign would have been enough."

The Chosen Undead let out a small laugh. Oh, he had experienced such a thing far too many times to forget. The Gargoyles and the Gaping Dragon were battles that would have been quite challenging without some assistance from his brother in arms.

"No, no." he waved the man's concerns aside, "Nothing so simple. We actually have a fairly unique problem, and thou are one of the only one I could turn to for this."

"Oh?" Solaire looking on in thought, "And what might that be?"

Pointing to Jack again (Even poking the boy in the chest so he could prove his point), the Chosen Undead began to explain Jack's plight. He went on to explain where he had found Jack, the boy's condition at the time, what Jack had told him upon awakening, and the strange circumstances around his time in Lordran. The only thing he didn't mention was who Jack had transformed into, which made Jack wonder. Why hadn't this man asked about his appearance? Javed knew quite a bit about it apparently, but Solaire hadn't even given him a second look.

As Javed finished explaining, Jack made a note about asking him about that later.

"Aye, that is quite the conundrum." the knight of Astora noted, "And have you tried anything so far? A miracle or sorcery perhaps?"

Inwardly, Jack wanted to groan. There was magic in this place too? Sure, he could understand people believing in religion or something due to the desperate nature of this land, but he knew what 'Sorcery' meant. First there was a curse that brought the dead back to life in a constant cycle of hell, but now there was sorcery? It was magic plane and simple...and a headache waiting to happen.

Javed sighed, "I'm afraid not. I highly doubt the boy has the skills to preform either of those traits, be it due to a lacking of faith or a lack of intelligence."

"Hey!"

Ignoring the boy's shout, Solaire agreed. It didn't sound like Jack would have any knowledge of notable sorceries or have any type of faith in the deities of Lordran. Still, that wasn't the only option they had.

"How about a homeward bone?"

Javed looked confusingly at such a suggestion while Jack was just...well, the normal type of confusion, "Whats a Homeward Bone?"

The Chosen Undead sighed. He would need a book filled with the tales of Lordran at this rate, the boy knew basically NOTHING about their world, "A Homeward Bone is a Bone fragment reduced to white ash, ones that make up a bonfire. When crushed, they return the person in question to the last bonfire they were at due to a lingering connection the person has with the bonfire."

He then turned to Solarie with a sigh, "And, theres no point to trying such a thing. The boy is a living human, and thus never needed a bonfire, nor do I believe that he has such constructs in his home either."

But, Solarie thought differently, "Ah, but thats something interesting isn't it?"

Turning to Jack, the Sunlight Knight dug into a pouch and pulled out a dull white bone. Tossing it to the boy, the man let out a small chuckle, "The Homeward Bones do send thou back to a bonfire, it is based on a...homeward instinct, so to speak."

"And while this boy," he pointed to Jack, "Has never truly used a bonfire, he surely has a home to return to, right?"

Jack and Javed shared a look, both of them remembering their conversation from earlier, "Yes, yes he does."

"Then," he reasoned, "It should work in manner of speech. The bonfires are the home to the undead, us creatures who have left our birthplaces to come to this dying land for a reason of our own, but this boy's home...is still his home."

Giving Jack's tall form a serious look, the knight pointed to the bone and closed his fist, "Crush it in your hand, and perhaps it will drive you home."

The boy was a bit skeptic about the whole concept of course. He didn't understand how a simple bone could transport him home. He had no idea what had brought him there, but returning him with a method like this seemed even stranger. However, after seeing Javed return from the ashy grave...he was willing to give anything a shot.

So after giving Javed and Solaire a affirmative nod, Jack took a deep breath and crushed the bone in the palm of his armored hand, ash pooling at the center of his palm. Seconds past after that, with the three individuals waiting for something to happen.

And at first, something did happen. Suddenly, Jack found himself being surrounded by a strange glowing aura and in the middle of a mysterious circle of light. Looking at the faces of his friends (at least he liked to consider them as such), this looked fairly normal. Solaire was happy at the aspect that it was working and Javed seemed surprised by the face. It looked like Jack might have been going home after all.

But seconds later, nothing came from it. The light and circle vanished and Jack hadn't even moved an inch.

"Scrap..." the boy muttered, letting the ashes drop the ground in disappointment.

Solaire too looked sadden at the result, "Hm, I wonder what went wrong..."

The Chosen Undead on the other hand was less surprised than the others, "I told you, they don't work that way."

"Perhaps," Solaire muttered, scratching the underside of his helmet, "Or perhaps there is something interfering with it?"

Javed scoffed, not believing that for a second. Even Jack had to admit...what could be messing with him like that? And why would they?

"It was just a suggestion," the knight admitted, "You mentioned how Sir Jack had no idea what had brought him to our dear Land of the Ancient Lords, so maybe what brought him here is also keeping him from leaving so easily?"

While that was a possibility...neither of the two had any idea what that force could be. All Jack remembered was...darkness, any else was simply a blurr. It was maddening for sure, but its all he had at the moment.

Seeing their responses, Solaire let out a mournful huff, "Hm, such a predicament you are in...I wish I could assist you further, but my hands are tied." He was simply a man of the sword who knew something of assisting others through summon signs. Solaire wasn't a grand Sorcerer, so his ability to help was...limited.

"Its," Jack sighed, "Its fine..."

Truth be told however, no it wasn't 'fine' at all, not for Jack anyway. So far, this man had been the only idea Javed had when it came with helping him, and now that had lead to a dead end. But, the boy couldn't blame the man for it, its not like he knew they were coming and could prepare. They were all stumped, and now a new path needed to be found...

Somehow.

"Perhaps," Solaire patted Jack on the side of his arm (since he couldn't reach his shoulder), "But I still wish to assist thee."

Digging into his pocket, the man pulled out a strange looking crystal. It was just big enough to fit into Jack's hand and it was pure white with a bit of cloth tired around one of its ends, "This will allow you to summon the spirits of others to assist you in battle, myself included. If you find yourself needing assistance during your quest, I am more than happy to assist you!"

Eyes widening, Jack stared at the crystal with awe. It was just like Javed had said, and now Jack could summon other people too?

"Thank you." he told Solaire with gratitude, "I don't know what to say..."

Solaire laughed hearty at the boy's grateful attitude, "Then say noting and go about your quest! All of us have a reason we have come to this land, be it knowing or unknowing!"

Looking up at the sky, the Undead Knight clenched his fist, "I came to this land, undead of my own accord so I could find my very own sun. And while I have come long and far, I have yet to find it...but I refuse to abandon my quest!"

"And you!" he pointed to Jack, "You seek to return home, body and mind intact!

"You may not be undead, but you are still a warrior in this, the Birthplace of Lord Gwyn!" Solaire continued, "We fight in the light of his glorious sun, and until our bodies return to ash or our goal reached, we shall never stop! For that is to be a Warrior of the Sun!"

Even if he still felt disappointed at the lack of progress, Jack did feel a bit better after hearing the man's words. His situation was still shrouded in mystery, like the shadows he found in his dreams, but the Sun...the sun Solaire spoke of made Jack feel as if there was still hope in his situation. He might be trapped in a place filled with the unknown, but that didn't mean he was beyond hope of answers...and the chance of going home.

Once Solaire had completed his grand speech however, Javed couldn't help but chuckle. This was quite similar to the speech the Knight had given the Chosen Undead once he considered joining his 'Sunlight Covenant'. Only this one was a bit more personal and grand...just like he had expected from the Sunlight Knight.

"Well, said my compatriot." The Chosen Undead told the Knight, "But now is the time for us to depart. If you have no way of assisting us, then perhaps others shall, somewhere in this land of ours."

Solaire agreed with such an idea, "Aye, many strangers live among Lordran. Be it in the DarkRoot forest, the Blight Town before, or" He looked toward the sun, "The light of Anor Londo, maybe there is someone else that could possibly assist you in your quest Sir Jack."

The boy in question nearly laughed at Solaire's constant referral to him as 'Sir'. It was nearly as bad as Optimus calling him Jackson or something, only Solaire wasn't nearly as commanding or serious as the massive Prime was.

"Thanks," Jack responded, extending a hand to the knight, "And thanks for the help, it means alot."

Solaire laughed once again and took the boy's hand in a strong yet, friendly grip, "Why of course, it was my pleasure. And I do hope to meet you again my friend, yet it be on the field of battle or simply at a time only the lords are aware of."

"Yeah," Jack smiled, "I'd like that."

Repressing a laugh, the Chosen Undead merely shook his head at the two's goodbye. Nodding his head toward the door, the man pulled Jack along while giving Solaire a look of farewell. He knew where to find the man, and was pretty certain that he would see Solaire again soon enough.

With the two leaving the Knight to himself, Jack and Javed made their way back toward the nearby bonfire, with Jack once again having to duck and squeeze his way though a nearby door. His new appearance was...going to be an issue sooner or later, he was sure of it.

Still, the boy tried to not let that affect him at the moment. Instead he focused on Solaire and the man's many words of wisdom...

"A little dramatic, wasn't he?" Jack tried not to smile under his hood. Solaire helped with the boy's mood, but even Jack could agree that the Knight was a bit...elaborate with his speech.

Javed let out a small laugh as the two walked up some stairs, making their way back into the Undead Parish and back toward Fire-Link Shrine, "That is Solaire I suppose, whether its in the world or the hearts of others..."

"He is always searching for his sun..."

* * *

_So, we finally have Solaire in this Chapter...what do you think?_

_I hope I depicted Solaire correctly. He is one of the characters throughout Dark Souls that we encounter the most (if not the most), so there was much more to base him off in this. Still, most of that concerned idle talk and not what he was about, so I had to chose some things too. Still, this is before Lost Izalith, so he is still much more upbeat._

_And just to tell you all, this will not be the last time Jack meets Solaire...but the next time we see him might be something you do not expect._

_So too about the lack of involvement with Jack's new appearance. That will be covered more in the next chapter. There was just so much going on in this one (and how much it bothered the Chosen Undead), made it hard for the two of them to talk about it. Still, the full ramifications of this will hit soon, I assure you._

_RxR please! I would like to see your comments!_


	6. Back to the Beginning

_RxR please! I would like to see your comments!_

* * *

_Chapter 5: Back to The Beginning  
_

* * *

The march back toward Fire-Link was a tough one for the two. While Solaire had given the hope for Jack's plight, there was still much left in shadow. What if the thing that had brought Jack to this world was truly keeping him from leaving? Why would it do that? And for what reason did it have for bringing him there in the first place?

And still, what could be done about it? Neither of them doubted the idea that there were others in Lordran that could help him, but their locations and what they could do exactly were something that was just as unknown to them.

Truly, they were at a stand still.

Still, Jack was not one to give up so easily. Even as he dragged his giant armored body, massive sword and shield in hand, back toward the same path they originally took, his mind was on the move. The Knight from Astora, despite being a odd person, was quite the speaker. His words had filled the boy with hope, no matter how bleak it looked. He would find a way home and solve the mysteries concerning his arrival. He was sure of it.

But, upon thinking about Solaire, another thought came back up. One Jack had made a note about it back during their conversation with the Sun knight.

"Hey, Javed?" Jack looked down at the man, such a thing still surprising him quite a bit. He wasn't used to being so tall...

Looking upward, the Chosen Undead raised a bow, "Yes? What is it?"

"If you don't mind me asking..." Jack nearly started to twiddle his thumbs, this was likely going to be a touchy subject with the Undead, "But, why didn't Solaire...say anything about how I looked?"

Javed's pace slowed down a tad, but he didn't stop completely, "Pardon?"

Sighing, Jack shook his head, "Its just...you made a big deal about how I looked...so I was worried that others might too."

If every sane person he met acted like Javed did when he saw Jack after his change, then Jack wasn't sure how he could survive. Getting a sword shoved in his face with every conversation would have been quite a pickle.

"But..." he hesitated, "He really didn't say anything about it, in fact all he noticed was my height and such...so, why was that?"

If Artorias was such a big legend that Javed would nearly kill him (twice in fact) for looking like him and having his 'soul', then why didn't someone like Solaire even bat a eyelash at him? It didn't really make sense to Jack, but nothing in this world did really.

Shoulders slumping, the Chosen Undead hung his head. Jack winced at that, it was like he had just punched the man in the gut or something...

Stopping just before they reached the church, the man sighed, "Artorias is a knight of legend, his time was centuries ago." Javed said while focusing on the path in front of him, "No one of this time except a very slim few know what he even looks like, nearly everything about him has been lost to the decaying nature of time."

Like hollowing, time would age and decay nearly anything into a shell of its former-self. Like a Undead's mind, known events would become legend, then myth, before finally becoming nothing but a story. And given enough time, history could be lost completely, fading like a flame into non-existence like many of the souls who had traveled to Lordran itself.

Under his hood, Jack raised a eyebrow, "Okay, that explains him...but...how did you-"

While walking up the steps toward the church, Javed came to a stop and gazed up at Jack, "Time is fluid in Lordran." he explained, "It is what allows us to summon others to assist us in battle. No matter if they are doing something else or are dead in themselves, their spirits can come assist us years in the past or the future."

"And through such flimsy physics...I once encountered the Knight in question..." he hesitated for a second.

"...and killed him."

A chill suddenly shot through Jack's spine. He was sharing the same appearance as a man that Javed had killed with his own two hands? That was slightly concerning, and explained why he was so tense just a bit.

Javed sighed, "I apologize for my actions, but you must understand."

"Artorias fell to my blade after slaying me many times. I freed his tormented soul from a hellish existence and then gave his remains to one of his closest compatriots. It was back, hundreds of years ago that this happened..."

Upon hearing these words, the mention of a hellish existence...images started rushing back to Jack. They were old, dark, and decayed, but he could still make them all out. An old decaying Colosseum, a sickening monster being impaled by a large rusted blade, and a knight with a broken arm roaring at Jack before leaping into the air. It felt so real, even if Jack was certain that it was a dream.

He stared into Jack's eyes then, "So, to see you not only processing his soul...but also taking his form, is quite a shock to myself."

Biting back a wince, Jack had to admit that he was right. It sounded like a Ghost from someone's past. Only instead of trying to kill him again, the ghost was a mysterious friend and was previously a teenager that was significantly shorter than the Hollow himself.

"But," the Chosen Undead sighed, "Thou has made me understand your plight, even if I am still unsure about it."

Due to how neither of them knew the exact reason behind his appearance in this land and why he appeared as he was, Javed had reason to feel that way. But the fact that he still wanted to help made Jack gladly sigh at that. But Javed wasn't finished yet.

"However," he gave the boy a sharp look, "Others might not see the same picture as I do, and you might find yourself in quite a situation if such a thing occurs."

Jack had a different reaction to that however. It might have been Solaire's words still ringing through his mind or something else influencing him, but the boy wasn't as worried. Hell, a small part of his mind even welcomed the challenge while the other part was reasonably worried like he should have been.

Lifting his sword onto his shoulder, Jack let out a small shrug, "If that happens, I'll deal with it. I came this far, I'm not giving up now."

With his brow raised underneath his helmet, Javed had to admit that Jack was quite determined. Still, he couldn't be too sure of himself. Countless undead had come to Lordran in the past with the same idea in their heads and look at how they ended up. Dead, hollowed, or worse. Jack might be a strong one, but he lacked many things that were required for whatever stood ahead of him.

Starting with, his fighting skills were utterly pathetic.

"Giving up may not be your intention, but that doesn't mean you won't get your behind handed to you many times over." Javed pointed out, much to Jack's displeasure.

Taking his sword off his shoulder, Jack turned to him with a questioning gaze, "And what does that mean?"

Javed laughed, "You might have Artorias' appearance and maybe his power, but you lack two very important things that could make you a powerful foe."

"And that would be?"

Producing a small smirk, the Undead reached for and unsheathed his sword. Then, the knight turned to Jack with his shield in his arm and sword in the other, pointing the blade directly at the boy, "His skill and experience in battle."

"In all his years, Artorias was a warrior with barely an equal. And when I fought him, he was nothing but a shell of himself with a broken arm and a animal's mind." Javed explained, "But you are just a boy in his youth, one who needed to have me save you from even the most fragile hollow. Its actually quite pathetic really."

Leaning forward, Javed poked Jack in the chest slightly, earning a small 'ding' due to his sword touching the boy's metal breastplate, "If you really intend to survive in this land, fighting is something you absolutely need. To survive, you must learn to kill."

Batting the sword away, Jack sent the man a odd look. What the hell was this guy getting at?

"Now," the Chosen undead stepped back for a moment and raised both his shield and sword upward, "Show me if you even have the capabilities required to use that blade in your hand. Show me that it can be more than a simple piece of metal while in your hands."

But, despite the man's willingness to fight, Jack was not on the same boat as him. Hell, if anything he was on the boat opposite of him, clear opposite of him. They were allies in this, right? So why in the heck would they fight? He could understand that he wanted to see what Jack could do, but his is a bit overboard. With his new stature and strength (which he hadn't actually gotten a chance to test yet), he didn't want to harm his friend so easily.

"Come on then," Javed mused, "Have at it will you?"

Letting out a sigh, Jack shook his head at the man, "Javed, lets not-"

A flash of light and a bit of footwork quickly made Jack silence himself. Stepping backwards, the boy just barely ducked out of the way as a bladed tip of a sword nearly left a large gash on his torso. Looking toward the source of it, Jack quickly found it. Javed was pressing him, sword swinging like a devil, moving like a warrior that lived through a hundred battles. And even though Jack couldn't see his face, he could tell that the man was serious...dead serious.

"Hold it, one damn-" he tried to yell at the man, but couldn't. All he could do was either back away from his attacks or block them with his shield. Luckily for Jack though, his shield was far large enough to keep him safe from anything Javed could have done, for now at least.

"Stop for one damn min-"

But as the Chosen Undead lunged at him, his sword nearly impaling Jack in the stomach, the boy decided that he couldn't just dodge. He had to fight back, even if he didn't want to.

So with sword in hand, Jack waited until Javed's next swing bounced off his shield to make his first move. And when that happened, Jack lifted his massive Greatsword and sung it through the air with a sizable amount of strength behind it. He didn't put everything into the swing (he didn't want to kill the man, undead or not), but he wasn't going to run away from the entire fight.

But, what effort he had put into his swing was evidently enough proof for that regard.

Javed, being the more skilled of the two, was easily able to get his own shield up in time to deflect Jack's assault. After all, he had fought much more dangerous foes in the past. But, that doesn't mean that the attack hadn't left its mark on him. In fact, Javed could barely feel his arm after Jack's sword bounced off his shield. It was numb, throbbing like a bell being rang. Jack might have put much of his strength into that swing, but it was something to be sure.

However, this is what Javed had expected.

Planting himself firmly on the ground with one leg behind him and one in front, the Chosen Undead let loose a rather pathetic swing of his sword. It looked far too suspicious for someone with some actual fighting experience but Jack wasn't one of those people. So after blocking such a weak move, Jack responded with his own. His swing was large and open, aiming to bash Javed in the side with the side of his Greatsword. But once again, this was what Javed had expected of him.

Using his stance to support himself in this action, the Chosen Undead actually met Jack's sword with his shield in a powerful smack. By pushing himself forward and swinging his shield arm, the man actually knocked Jack's sword away in a powerful push.

It was so powerful in fact that it sent Jack's arm flying to the side despite the boy's best efforts. And while he tried to correct this. Jack was wide open...something Javed quickly took advantage of.

Stepping forward, the Undead quickly closed the distance between the two of them and then shoved his sword forward with a thrust. He didn't aim for Jack's torso or lower body however. No, Javed's sword stopped right before it reached the boy's neck, the blade just barely touching his skin.

Resisting the urge to gulp, Jack looked down at this opponent. He was completely stuck. Any wrong movement and his neck would have one big hole in it.

"While a good effort, you're skills are very lacking." Javed informed him, "Artorias, even at his worse, applied all of his strength in every swing. Even in his crazed state, he sent me flying multiple times with attacks like the ones you used. However, that was because he knew not to give his foe any room to breath."

"And," Javed stood upward from his combat stance. "He never would have allowed himself to be taken advantage of...like so."

Ever so slightly, the man poked his sword's tip into Jack's neck. It wasn't painful of course and didn't even break skin, but the point was still made.

"He would have tried to bash my head open with his shield or simply rolled out of the way, not just stand there like a gaping fish." the Chosen Undead told the boy, sounding like a disappointed teacher more than a actual knight.

Still, Javed's relaxed a bit after that and let his sword fall from Jack's neck, "You have promise. Given time and more experience and I'm sure you'll be able to make something of yourself, maybe even become a knight yourself."

Letting Jack have a moment to calm himself down, the Chosen Undead patted the boy on the shoulder and walked past him, "Eventually, anyway."

With his gaze following the knight, Jack watched as his ally made his way into the side entrance of the complex, the same one they had used earlier so to avoid some nasty looking hollows.

"Come on then," Javed called out to him, "Let us return and plan your next move, time is wasting!"

Quickly leaving Jack's sight, the boy in question let out an annoyed sigh. Letting his shoulders sag just a tad, Jack tightened his grip on his sword.

"I'm going to bash his head in one of these days..."

* * *

_Later..._

* * *

"This is a horrible idea..."

Those words were echoing though the area as Jack spoke them, bouncing off the valley he stood above. For instead of being back at Fire-Link shrine, Jack found himself somewhere completely different. Instead of the aged ruins of Fire-Link, Jack was currently standing in the middle of a lush, jungle-like area with trees, plants, and moss covering everything.

And what was so horrible about all of this? Well, it wasn't the area itself. Not at all, Jack actually liked it. It held a bit of peace in comparison to the Undead Parish or Undead Berg. Sure, it was a bit humid due to his armor and a bit foggy but other than that, it was quite enjoyable.

But no, its was the giant gorge he was staring into that was a bit...off putting to the boy. It was huge, it was dark, it felt like he was staring into a void. It made some shivers go up his spine...

Especially since he had been told that he had to climb down the gorge using a small cliff side...

"This is just...the worst idea ever."

And honestly, Jack couldn't help but think back to who had thought this was a good idea in the first place.

* * *

_Earlier, Fire-Link Shrine._

* * *

_"You...want me to what?"_

_After making their way back to the place where their journey began, Jack and the Chosen Undead had taken a moment to rest up. That meant Jack sat down by the fire so he could rest his legs for a moment while Javed sorted through some items he had collected from the Undead corpses they had passed by while on the move._

_Upon arriving though, Jack was surprised and sadden to see one of that Siegmeyer was gone. Upon asking about him though, the Crestfallen warrior simply shook his head. He claimed that the 'foolish' knight had taken off for another adventure, picking to head 'below' instead of 'above' this time._

_Javed explained that the 'above' was actually a massive city called Ano Londo that was set high above them on the mountain side. But for the 'below', Jack got no answers. However, the boy just hoped he would be able to see the man again at some point. He seemed more than friendly enough, and for a land like Lordran...that was something to be treasured._

_That aside however, the two reluctant warriors still took their moment of peace n stride. They wanted to enjoy it as long as they could..._

_And they did...until the Chosen Undead had an idea._

_"I am simply suggesting that you return to where I had discovered you." Javed told the boy,_

_Jack signed, resting his chin on his sword's handle, "And I get that, but...what is that going to do to help?"_

_The Chosen Undead had already told the group about how he found Jack in the Darkroot Basin, how could going there actually help him? Did Javed think that there would be something down there that Jack could find? Something that he missed or might not have been able to find regardless? While that was a nice thought, Jack didn't think so._

_"It is more of a clue than what we have at the moment boy," the Undead reasoned, "At the moment, we have no path to take, no guides to follow. Perhaps returning to where everything began might open up a new path for you, something that just sitting here will not acomplish."_

_Once again, Jack could see the logic in that...but he was still a bit unsure._

_"Just try it son," Javed tried to convince the boy, "I had already taken care of the Hydra that had take up residence there, and anything else that you might find should be more than worthy of your expertise."_

_For some reason though, Jack doubted that._

_But...where else could he go? There wasn't anywhere else Jack could think of and the place Javed spoke of was where he had been found orignally. Maybe there was some connection to his sudden appearance in that location and what might have brought him into this Lordran? Sure, he had no idea what that might be...but hey, it was worth a shot at least._

_Besides, how bad could it be?_

* * *

_Present time, Dark-Root Basin:_

* * *

It...was much worse actually, for several reasons._  
_

For one, Jack found himself alone...just, alone. Sure, Javed had walked with Jack and showed him the path to this location, but thats it. After taking the lift back up to the Undead Parish, the two had made their way over to a tower that was located right next to where the pair had fought three hollows for the first time. And upon walking down the ruined Tower (passing another bonfire in the process), Javed eventually lead Jack to a new face face.

It was a massive man with long white hair and giant beard. And while Jack was still much taller than him, this man was physically fit to the point where Jack nearly winced while looking at him. Still, being a blacksmith called for such a thing.

Introducing each other, the man revealed himself to be Andre of Astora.

That caught Jack off guard due to that being the same place Solaire was from, but he didn't mention it. However, it was at this point where the man had mentioned helping Jack out if he could...with a price of course.

But without any money, Jack turned the man down. Besides, that wasn't why there were there anyway.

What they were there for was a doorway just across from the Blacksmith. It led to a massive broken room where Javed spoke of fighting a massive demon earlier in his quest. Such a tale made Jack glad that he had missed out on this fight...it didn't sound pleasant.

Pushing on past that however, the boy and knight soon found themselves in a completely new area. It was filled with large vegetation and trees, something Jack hadn't seen yet in Lordran. In fact, the place was so different that Jack had thought that they had been transported somewhere else. But looking upward, such a thought was quickly tossed to the side. They were simply in a lower section of the area, a more wooden and natural area, far away from the massive stone buildings of the Undead Parish.

However, before the two could make their way into the forest area (which reminded Jack far too much of another forest he had been in with a giant robotic Spider-femme), Javed stopped them.

Jack should have known that this was going to happen, but Javed told him that he had to depart. He had his own mission to complete and he had taken off too much time from his own goals. He wanted to help Jack for sure, but he couldn't abandon his goal...abandon the people he fought for, their memories and their spirits.

He had a mission, just like Jack did...and he couldn't abandon it, not when the threat of hollowing still loomed over him.

However, he wouldn't just leave Jack without at least leaving him with something to help on his journey. Even if their journeys didn't correspond with each other, he could at least do one thing to assist Jack in the trials ahead.

* * *

_"Watch for my summoning sign, watch for my mark." Javed told him, holding his hand in a death grip as he did so._

_"I will fight with you, I will fight to get you home. Don't forget that."_

* * *

The wonders of Lordran's fluid time stream...

Handing Jack something called a 'Divine Blessing', the Chosen Undead wished him luck before he departed. Looking at the strange flask that he had been given, Jack could only wonder what it was for.

But that aside, the boy understood why the man had left. He couldn't force the Chosen Undead to help him and while he wished he could have some help, this was Jack's mission and his alone.

Now, if only the damn plants could keep from attacking him...things might have been a bit easier.

That was the second thing that Jack hated about all of this. Just moments after he had entered the forest, alone for the second time he had been in Lordran, something had walked out of the wooded area and attacked him. But, instead of a hollowed solder...it was a gigantic plant.

"...what?" Jack mumbled, watching as the strange plant lumbered over toward him.

Well, it was technically more than a plant. It was closer to a walking bush or tree, with clumps of grass and leafs holding it together along with twigs and branches. Still, despite that fragile appearance, the creature somehow managed to rush Jack with a remarkable pace and attack with long whip-like arms. It seemed like something that defied logic, but then again, it wasn't the first to do so from Jack's perspective.

However, Jack wasn't going to take this lying down however.

His massive shield was more than enough to deflect such an attack and with one swing of his massive sword, he cleaved the creature in half.

Now, due to its inhuman appearance, Jack had no reason to hold back against the strange plant. Hollows were one thing, but this thing? Oh, it was just freaky enough for Jack not to care. And in turn, this resulted in his massive Greatsword easily cleaving the creature in two, crushing and slicing though the branches that made up its body.

Such a thing actually surprised Jack somewhat. This was the first time he had ever used his new form's strength in such a way, and considering that Jack could barely scratch a undead solder's armor before...well, this was a big improvement.

But once the two halves of the demonic foliage fell to the ground, Jack took a second look at the remains and wondered aloud...

"Did I just get attacked by a damn plant?"

He had been attacked by giant robots, undead humans, giant fire breathing dragons...but plants? Really? The vegetation around him was seriously trying to kill him now? This seemed almost to insane to believe. But, the two pieces of the previously hostile organic matter was proof enough of that.

"Okay..." he grimaced before carefully stepping over the plant's remains, "Just...gona leave you there and be on my way..."

Not even giving the foliage another look, Jack quickly moved onward toward the path he was given. It wasn't a far walk actually, but he did have to deal with another one of these 'Plant' creatures on the way. It was like it just sprouted out of the ground...and considering that it was a plant, that was entirely possible.

It just met the same fate as its predecessor however, cleaved in two with no real effort on Jack's part. Really, he was starting to wish that creatures like this could be his main obstacle on his journey. Destroying some odd plants would have been much easier to deal with than rotting human remains. But, Jack was never that lucky to begin with.

If he was lucky, he wouldn't be in this place at all.

Such lack of luck was proven right after that unfortunately, as Jack then found himself at the third and arguably, most frustrating part of the entire ordeal. Worse than being left alone in this strange place and worse than the evil attacking plants...

The Giant Gorge that was suppose to lead him to where The Chosen Undead had found him.

He had found it on a separate path to the right of the main one, and upon looking at it Jack nearly fell on his behind. It was just a massive void, he couldn't even see the bottom...

...and he was meant to climb down it?

"This...is the most moronic thing I've ever done." Jack muttered...

"Okay, second most moronic thing."

The first was actually agreeing to go to the Autobot's base back during that fateful day after school. Anyone with even a bit of brains would have refused on the spot. But Jack? Nope, he agreed despite what would happen later on in his life.

However, anyone else would have regretted those actions if they were in his position now. But Jack? Now, he would never do that.

"Well," he sighed, "I've never been that much of a decision maker anyway."

He was just concerned with not making a even worse decision the next time around.

With that said however, after taking a deep breath, Jack started on the long and narrow (to him anyway, anyone normal sized wouldn't have been as bothered as he was) pathway down the side of the gorge. And just like the rest of the Darkroot Garden, Jack found the pathway down the cliff-side just as damp and moss covered as the forest behind him.

It was a careful and slow march for the boy, as he determined to NOT slip and fall to his demise. And due to how damp and humid the entire pathway was, it was a scenario that could have easily occurred if one was in too much of a hurry. One wrong step and he could easily find himself as a messy splat at the bottom of the gorge.

So to avoid that, Jack made certain to watch every single step he took as he walked down the path to the Basin below. The cliff-side was filled with arching paths that could take him to a dead end, but luckily Jack manged to avoid nearly all of them. He even took his hood off in case it messed with his vision, letting the humid air blow through his hair.

On his way down however, he did notice some strange things. Such as some corpses and some very strange lizard-like creature.

"Does that thing have a giant rock growing out of its back?"

Lordran was getting weirder and weirder in his opinion.

Hell, if he wasn't so nervous at the moment, Jack might have cracked a joke about it. Even if it would have only helped his mood.

But there was something about this place that was giving him chills, and it wasn't the climb down the gorge that was doing it. While he felt a bit of peace when he first entered the area, once Jack had started to climb down this gorge...something changed. Any peace the wilderness had given him had quickly shifted into a dark, ominous whisper.

Something had happened in this place, this Darkroot forest...and while Jack had no idea what, he had a feeling that he didn't want to find out.

And he didn't, or at least not yet. Instead, Jack focused back on the task at hand until he reached what looked like the bottom of the cliff-side. It opened up into two distinct paths, one that went to the left and led to larger areas with trees while the other was a path that led deeper into the gorge.

Deeper into the gorge...

"Yeah, I think not." Jack mumbled, having taken only around a second or two for him to decide where he would go.

Turning his back on the other path, Jack started to make his way toward the opening in the canyon. He wanted to get away from the cliff-side as soon as he could. His giant armored body didn't make small pathways seem any more reassuring than they already were.

Upon walking away from the cliff-side however, Jack was forced to stop in his tracks.

During the entire way down the cliff, Jack had not heard a single thing. Sure, there had been a few bugs flying around and maybe even some crickets...but other then that it was silent.

So, hearing the sound of metal moving behind him was...disconcerting.

Tightening his hand around his sword, Jack let loose a small sigh. There was something behind him, something he didn't really didn't want to face.

Putting his hood over his head, Jack turned to face whatever was approaching him. But due to the mist and the darkness that filled the basin around him, Jack could barely see whatever was walking toward him. What he could see however was big, almost as big as he was. It was also carrying something too, something in both of its hands.

Sword and shield ready, Jack stepped forward in preparation. He might not know what the creature was, but he wouldn't face it without a fight.

Metal boots meeting dirt, Jack watched as the figure grew ever closer. It pushed through the darkness and then through the mist, eventually revealing itself to Jack in its full glory.

Massive in height and a humanoid figure, the new arrival was nearly Jack's height in his current form.

Armor covering it from head to toe, the figure took the form of a massive knight of some kind. It was surely different from anything Jack had seen in Lordran so far (besides his own appearance at least). With armor so sophisticated and detailed, it lacked all the decay the hollows before it had been covered in. The only noticeable blemish it had was its covering, a pitch black material. But it wasn't normal, the armor wasn't suppose to be like that.

It was almost as if it was scotched, burned and covered in soot...

Two massive horns sprouting from its helmet, Jack inched backwards as the knight continued to walk toward him. It was silent and had a dominating aura around it, one that smelled remarkably like fire...and death.

In one hand was a impressive looking shield, stained black just like the knight's armor was. And occupying the knight's other hand was a massive spear-like weapon, a halberd that would have looked far too large for anyone else. A intimidating weapon to be sure.

However, as the knight neared him, Jack noticed something quite surprising.

It hadn't attacked him yet!

Everything so far, undead and otherwise had attacked him on sight. It was like it was built into their systems, a need to kill. The only ones who hadn't was people like Javed, Undead who had not yet hollowed. But this knight, he hadn't either. It was just calmly approaching him at a steady pace.

"Hey!...Hey man, can you understand me?"Jack tried to communicate with the knight. Maybe it wasn't a hollow, maybe it could understand him! It was unlikely, but considering his record with the armored knight-like people so far (Siegmeyer, Javed, Solaire), Jack was willing to take the chance.

Then, much to Jack's shock, the knight stopped in its tracks and looked at him...maybe it had understood him?

Taking a deep breath, Jack lowered his sword and put his shield on the ground. If he was less threatening looking, then maybe the knight would follow his lead and put its weapons away too. It was worth a shot anyway.

"My...my name is Jack," he introduced himself to the silent knight, "Just...heading toward the lake for a bit...w-what about you?"

With the knight still not saying a word, Jack gulped at the tense situation. Any wrong move and the knight might burst into action, "You heading there too?"

Pointing over to his destination, Jack watched as the knight followed his notion before looking back towards him.

"Ma-maybe we can walk there together if...if you want..." he stumbled with his words, hoping to get out of this situation without any blood being drawn.

But...it was not to be.

Whether if it was the question or just some kind of delay, the knight finally started to move again. It still didn't say anything of course. Instead, it took one step forward...and stabbed its halberd right at Jack's torso, aiming to impale the boy on his weapon.

A yelp escaped Jack as he rolled out of the way with a small gash now adorning his torso. If he hadn't been so cautious around the knight, Jack might have been turned into a shish-kabob instead.

_'Shit...'_ he mumbled inwardly, holding onto his Greatsword.

Swinging the massive weapon over its head, the knight lashed out while rushing forward. Slashing to the side, upward, and even stabbing forward, the knight was acting like a truly fearsome warrior. Jack could barely deflect the weapon with his own, wishing that he still had his shield in his possession. The knight was fast, faster than any monster he had faced before...which wasn't saying much admittedly.

_'I go from plants to this!? A bit of a jump...'_ Jack inwardly mumbled.

Still, it was still a damn monster when all things were considered. It was fast, it was strong, and it had a skill that the mindless swarms of hollows lacked. Hell, Jack nearly fell on his side when the Knight bashed away one of his counterattacks and struck him across the face with its shield.

"Agh!" he yelled, his jaw nearly cracking under the force of the blow.

Tasting blood in his mouth, Jack rolled through the momentum and slashed upward at the aggressive knight. This was for naught however, as the knight simply side stepped his attack, leaving the boy defenseless a for a split second.

With a growl, Jack bit back a scream when the knight then followed up with a painful slash to his shoulder. He wasn't getting anywhere in this fight. Every swing he made with his sword was either blocked by the knight's smaller shield or dodged with hop to the side. It was just as big as he was and yet nimble to boot, something Jack had not seen before in the little time he actually had in combat.

"Damn," he cursed, watching as the knight continued to press him, "Damn, damn, damn..."

A downward slash was the knight's next move, one Jack smacked away just before it split his head in two along with the rest of him. Recovering, the knight tried again with a slash aimed at Jack's torso. However just like before, Jack met it with an equal force, causing a slight stand still.

The sword and halberd met with a thunderous clatter, the two pieces of killing steel fighting back against each other just like their owners were.

"Damn...it!"

Struggling with the pressure for a moment or two, Jack let loose a yell before forcing both their weapons to his side and into the dirt. Doing this however led to both weapons being buried in the ground for a moment or two, leaving the two combatants bare handed.

Its weapon occupied, the knight took the chance and swung its shield at Jack in response. However, the boy saw that coming due to the repetitive nature of the knight's tactics. Whenever its weapon was occupied due to either blocking or deflecting a attack, it tried to catch him off guard with its shield arm.

So knowing that, Jack ducked out of the way and delivered his own punch to the knight's helmet. It hurt like hell of course (hell, his fingers might have cracked when he did so), but it was enough to stagger the knight back for a moment or two.

This however, was just what Jack needed.

Pulling his sword free of the ground, Jack bent his knees before launching himself forward toward the knight. It was a boost he wasn't used to, but Jack really didn't care at the moment. It might have been due to his new body, but the speed Jack was propelled at was just enough to catch the knight off guard.

Sword in hand, Jack unleashed a powerful slash against the staggered knight. It might have been able to get its shield up in time, but Jack's swing was still enough to force the knight backward once again. In fact, it was just powerful enough to knock the knight backwards into the cliff's side, its back colliding with the rocks in a surprised turn of events.

Watching the Knight stagger and try to regain its balance, Jack knew he had a chance. He could easily have just taken this as a chance to run, to make a dash to safety. Even so however, something with Jack had been stirred. He wasn't sure what, but he wasn't finished yet. A sudden force had exploded within him, a rage at the knight in front of him. It was dark, it was furious, it wanted to kill. He wanted to defeat it, to crush it...even though he had no idea why.

_'I'll bring you down, you son of a bitch!'_

Two handing the massive Greatsword, the teen rushed forward and stabbed at the knight once again. However, the knight had no chance to defend itself this time and as a result, was impaled right through the stomach with a sickening crunch. Blood dripping down the sword's edge, the knight fidgeted for a moment before slumping over. Its weapons dropped to the ground, the knight growing still.

Then, with one strong thrust, Jack pulled the blade free and with one simple slash...beheaded the knight on the spot.

With the head rolling off to the side, Jacks stood there in silence. He had won, he had defeated it...he had...

Blood was dripping off his sword, but that was all the movement the boy was making at the moment. Instead, all of his focus was on the still standing corpse in front of him. His eyes frozen at the sight of the carnage he had created.

He...decapitated it...

He...cut its head off...

...he killed it...

Arms going limp, Jack started to back away as the Knight finally fell to its knees before collapsing to the ground. From then on, the knight was still, not moving an inch. It was dead, he was sure of it. And hell, if he wasn't...than the blood dripping from the stump of its neck was surely enough evidence otherwise.

Walking backwards still, Jack only came to a stop when he felt a cold stone surface collide with his back. Letting himself slide down towards the ground, Jack released his sword and removed his hood once again.

He was exhausted, he was tired...and he just killed something. The first real kill he had in this land and in his life.

_'What...what did I just do?'_

Sure, he might have kicked a Undead or two off the bridge back in the Undead Parish. He might have knocked another hollow into a flaming pile of corpses too. But never had he done something like this. He impaled that creature on his sword and then sliced its head off like a fish. That wasn't self defense, that was just plain murder.

_'What did I do!?'_

This land was tough, it was punishing for sure...but that? That wasn't Jack.

At least, he didn't think so.

So, the boy just sat there, staring up at the sky as minutes pasted. He didn't even notice when the Knight's body collapsed into a pile of ash or the wounds he had. No, all Jack could focus on was the blood on his hands, the darkened sky above him...

And the darkness that surrounded him so.

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_Pretty bummer ending for this one right? Well, thats what happens when someone violently kills something for the first time...they might not be able to handle it all that well._

_I had to get rid of Javed eventually. He does have his own stuff to be doing and he isn't a 'Golden' hero, so he wouldn't completely abandon his goal to help Jack. Still, he did provide Jack with something that could help and killed most of the dangers of the Darkroot Basin...most of them anyway._

_Why did the Black Knight approach Jack? Why did it wait before attacking him? What came over Jack and allowed him to kill it? Well, the answer is actually all the same if you believe that, but I won't reveal it until later._

_Also. Please remember, Jack is still getting used to his new form. So don't expect him to be jumping around like Artorias...yet. That will come sooner rather then later, but for the moment he is still more used to being completely human...even if some inhuman abilities do pop up randomly at points._

_RxR please! I would like to see your comments!_


End file.
